


TLOU: Lolita: ( Joel & Ellie story )

by carl_solo



Category: The Last of Us
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Drama & Romance, F/M, Mild Sexual Content, Underage - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-09
Updated: 2020-05-27
Packaged: 2021-02-27 18:40:28
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Underage
Chapters: 17
Words: 67,334
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22630378
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/carl_solo/pseuds/carl_solo
Summary: Modern AU: A man broken by his past and a girl living a lonely life in a forgotten town. Are going to find each other, and start something that will heal them. They start with a friendly relationship, but with time, one of them would want more than just a friendship. Will they find happiness in each other? Or they are just going to accept the reality of what society dictates.
Relationships: Ellie/Joel (The Last of Us)
Comments: 249
Kudos: 190





	1. A little town in Minnesota

**Author's Note:**

  * For [cakepop96](https://archiveofourown.org/users/cakepop96/gifts).



> Disclaimer: I do not own any character of (The Last of Us) TLOU is owned by Naughty Dog and their creators. 
> 
> warning: This story is going to be rated M for a languishing, underage situation, and some sexual content in some of the chapters. As this story is going to be about a
> 
> 16 years old girl, falling in love with a 40 years old man, this story isn't going to be for kids. Just read it if you're an adult over 18 years old.
> 
> A/N: Hi, yes I'm back again. I know that probably no one misses me here, this fandom is so abandoned right now. I just hope that people come again after the second game comes out. I don't know what they're going to do. I just hope that they don't fuck up the story too much. I love these two characters too much, and for what I see so far, things don't look good for them. Anyway, this is going to be a short story, just 16 chapters, I just hope that people like them. This one has nothing to do with the game, it is just something that comes to mind after someone requested.
> 
> It is going to be a modern AU one. Yeah, I never do this before in this fandom, so this is going to be my first time. I am doing this as a request from a reader on AO3, who asked me if I can get the characters from TLOU and do a modern one with them. She also asked me to be a loved one without the drama, action and all that. I try my best to do something without the drama but is still have some, but at least is not action or killing in this one. All comments and reviews are welcome but try not to be too hard on the story or the way is writing. I'm not a writer and English is not my native language, I tried not to be too hard on that one too. Also, I want to let people know, that this is an AU fantasy story, writing with fiction character that was taken from a video game. The story is not canon as is a modern story. Also, this story is not justified pedophile or any act forbidden by law or society, and for any circumstances, I'm in favor of that. This is just a fiction story.
> 
> So I will dedicate this story to cakepop96. Thanks for reading my stories and asking for more. I think you're the only one to ask me that, so I thank you for that. Sorry for making you wait this long, and I hope that you like it.

**Chapter 1: A little town in Minnesota**

Our story starts in a town named **Hackensack,** a city in Cass County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 313 by the Census of 2010. It is part of the Brainerd Micropolitan Statistical Area. Although the population is small, it is located within a ten-mile radius of 127 lakes, so during the warm months, there is plenty of business. The city center is home to gift stores, the Big Dipper ice cream shop and restaurant, Udom's Thai restaurant, Lucette's Pizza and Pub, and much more. The town is really quiet as it does not have a big population, but is a good place to live if you want to be left alone. Most of the population is in their middle edge or older, but that does not mean that the town has younger people too.

The town is good for fishing and hunting since it is around a forest and big lakes. During the summer is the busiest time for the town and when they received most of the money to the economy of the town. Because a lot of people come on vacation to enjoy nature and have a good time with their families. But our story is not about the town or its citizens. It is about two different people that found comfort in each other. So now that you know a little about the place, let's start with our story show us!

Our story starts in the summer of 2018, on May 25 to be more specific. That was the day Joel arrived in the town of **Hackensack, Minnesota.** He comes from Texas to try to escape his past, not knowing the someone here is going to change his future.

***Summer***

A 1985 pick-up truck got out of the main road and stopped in a gas station on the state 371 S route. A 40 years old man got out of the truck after he parked beside one of the gas pumps and walked toward the gas station store. Soon he gets there he walked toward the man that is attending the place.

"Hello there, how are you doing today sir," said the old man behind the counter.

"Hi, I need to fill the red pick-up truck outside, I think $40 will do," said Joel soon he gets close to the counter. Then he looked around the store and speak again. "Do you have any good whiskey in here?" Said Joel moving way and checking the racks.

The old man turned his head and looked at the pick-up outside. He noticed the boxes and other things on the back of the truck. "Yes we have a few good ones in the back area," said the man looking back at Joel, who was now picking a few things from a rack. "Hey, I notice that you have a lot of stuff in your truck, are you moving into town, or just passing through?" he watched Joel moving to the back of the store, but as he did not get any answer he continued. "This town is maybe small, but we get a lot of tourists during the summer. They come to fish and hunt, and some of them just come to enjoy the lake areas to have a good time. If you come for one of those, I can recommend a good inn. Are you on vacation? Because if you're traveling a long distance, it is better if you get some rest. It is going to be dark soon and it is better to drive after a good rest."

A few minutes later, Joel came back with two bottles in hand. He put the two bottles on the counter and a few bags of dry meat and walked back to the counter. "You ask a lot of questions, for a gas station attendant."

"Well, I like to help people, especially if they're going to spend some money in town." Say the man grabbing one of the bottles checking the price.

Joel looks around and notices that there is nobody else in the gas station. "Yeah, I can see that," he said looking at the man again. "Actually, I am not here on vacation, but I'm looking for a cabin or an old house that is supposed to be closer to the lakes around here. So maybe you can help me out."

The man starts to put the bottles and the other things in a bag. "Oh, so you're moving in? Well, maybe I can help you, but you need to be more specific, there are a lot of lakes here."

Joel introduces one hand in one of his pants pockets and takes out a small paper and passes it to the old man. "I think this is the address," he said while the man grabbed the paper. "The place belongs to my grandpa, but he passed away last year, and left it to me. His name was Jacob Miller, did you know him?"

The man looks at the address for a moment. "Well, I don't recognize that name or this address, but sometimes people come here to live a quiet life and don't talk much to anyone," the old man gave the paperback to Joel.

Joel took the paperback and put it back in his pocket. "Oh, okay. Well, that means that I have to find it myself."

"There are a few old cabins and houses closer to Birch lake, so maybe someone there knows him. I moved here five years ago after my wife died, but I don't remember hearing of someone dying last year."

"He wasn't living here for the past 10 years, he was living with my brother and wife. He got sick a few years ago so my brother was taking care of him. Anyway thanks for the information. How much do I owe you?"

The man moves to the register and starts to press some numbers. "Well, is that is the case, that will explain why I didn't know him. Is going to be $74.45, mister."

Joel took his wallet out and gave the money to the man. "Can you give me any direction to how to get there, I am not from around, so I don't know the area."

"Yeah sure. You just need to go a little south from here and turn on County 40 NW road. Then take the 52nd Ave now that is a few miles in that direction and that will take you to the lake part, you can ask someone there," Said the man passing to Joel the bag and his change. "I notice that you have a southern accent, are you from Arizona?"

Joel grabs the bag and looks at the man. "No, I'm from Texas," said Joel starting to walk away.

"Well, that is good. Hope you find your place soon... Hey, I didn't get your name?"

Joel opens the door and starts to get out. "I didn't give you any… like you said some people just come here to get a quiet life," with that he walked out of the place without saying anything else.

After that, he filled the pick-up and drove away.

( One hour later )

Joel was driving slowly on a rusty road looking for the address or for someone that knew his grandfather. The man on the gas station was right the part closer to the lake that he was looking for it was almost deserted. There are not many houses there or people to ask for directions. After driving a little bit, he finally found an old woman that knew a little about his grandfather. When he asked about the house he has around here, she told him a little about him, but also told him that not many people know him well. As Joel doesn't like to talk to people much, he said goodbye to the woman after she gave him the direction he was looking for.

Joel drove the truck into a more dense area of the forest that surrendered the lakes until he found an old road that seemed to take him to his grandfather's house. Soon he found the place, he stopped the truck in front of the old house and looked at it. "This must be the place," he said while opening the door of the truck and getting out.

He takes a good look at the place and notices that it needs some repair. It was natural since no one been here for the last ten years. Yeah, his brother told him that their grandfather talked to him about the place a few times, but he never came here. He was going to come to check the place, but after their grandfather got sick he never came. So after a few minutes, Joel walked toward the door taking out the key from the house and introduced it on the door locks. Soon he opened, he walked inside and started to look around. The house wasn't big, but for just him? it was more than enough. After a few minutes, he closed the door and walked to the living room. He tried the light, but as that didn't work, he opened the curtain, so some light got in. After that Joel looked at some of the furniture there. Some of them were damaged and others were covered with some white sheets.

So after checking the living room, he walks to the kitchen and tries the light there too. Soon he found it, he tried to turn it on, but it didn't work either. So that is one thing he needs to fix first, and probably call the electric company so they put the power back on. He checked the kitchen and noticed that some dirty water was on the floor. So Joel looks at the ceiling and notices that the water has come from a little hole there. The water was already green and smelling. So that is something he needs to clean that later. Also, he needs to check the roof of the house and see if there is more leak in other places.

After that, he continues checking the kitchen. After checking the stove and seeing that look in good condition, he moved to the fridge and opened it. The fridge was smalling badly and looked like he was going to need a new one. The cabinets need some repair too, but there is nothing he can't fix. Joel walked out of the kitchen and looked to the back part of the house. He knew that he needed to put some money to fix it. And lucky for him, his grandfather not only left him the pick-up truck and the house, but he also got some money too. His grandfather has insurance and after the funeral and all his debts were settled, he got enough money to repair the house and buy a few things. That is going to be enough until he finds a job to make some money. He is planning on using his talent as a carpenter and handyman for that.

After a few minutes, Joel walked into the small corridor that took him to the back door of the house. He opened and walked outside and noticed that the house had a small terrace. The screen that it covers was broken, so that is another thing he needs to repair. He walked to the backyard of the house and saw the small shed at the back and other old things. Most of them look broken, so he needs to check them later and see what he can save. After 10 minutes outside looking at the place and the tree. Joel looked at the sky and noticed that it was going to get dark soon, so he decided to walk back to the truck and start to get his thing inside.

After one hour, all his things were inside and all over the living room. He didn't have much, so it is not going to be difficult to unpack his things. After all, was set on the floor, Joel went back outside and collected some woods for the fireplace. He is going to need the light from the fire to illuminate the place until he resolves the electricity problem. When the fire was ready, he went to the kitchen where he put the bag from the gas station. And take out the whiskey and a bag of dry meat. He walked back to the living room and sat on the chair that he put in front of the fireplace.

Joel opened the bottle and put some in a glass that he brought from Texas. He found a few glasses in the kitchen, but when he opened the water tap no water came out, so that is another thing he needs to check tomorrow. As the house was deep in the woods, it must have underground water well, and that is going to be good. After he got some bite from the dry meat,

he grabbed the glass up to his hand and looked up.

 _This is for you baby girl whatever you're. I know that I wasn't a good husband or a good brother and I never have the chance to be a good father. But I promise you that I will try to be a better person and try to start over. Salud my dear lovely baby… I am never going to forgive you, baby… I love you._ Joel moved the glass to his mouth and started to drink. Some tears go down from his check before he finishes the drink. By the time he finishes half the bottle, he falls asleep on the chair.

( Next day )

Joel wakes up late with a hangover, he doesn't even remember where he was until his mind comes back to the present. Soon he got up from the couch, he walked to the kitchen to splash some water on his face but noticed that there was no water in the house yet. So he walked out of the house and back to his truck and got a bottle of water he had there. After he splashes some on his face, he started to look into the forest in front of him.

He moved away from the truck and started to look at the house. _The place needs some work, but it looks like a good place to start again and be alone with my pain_. He said to himself while he looked around. Okay, I have a lot of work to do, so it is better to go and change and drive to the town to get a few things done.

After he gets back inside, Joel looks for the box that has his clothes. After he finds it, he gets to the bathroom and changes. After he finished, he went out again, got into his truck and drove into the town. Driving to the center of the town it wasn't that far, just 20 minutes drive from his house. So the first thing he did was find dinner and get some breakfast to start the day. There he asked the waitress, where he can find the electric power office that serves the town. The woman told him and gave him directions to where the office is, she also told him where to find the other place he needed to visit.

After he goes to the electric office and pays to get the power back on to his house, he visits a few stores and buys the things he needs for the moment. He always tries to avoid talking to people, unless he has to. So he will try to visit the town as little as possible. After fishing, Joel goes back to the house, works on the water system and starts cleaning and unpacking his things.


	2. The Little Neighbor

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After Joel arrives in the little town, he starts to fix the damage and broken thing it has. He came to this place to be alone, but destiny will be said otherwise.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I do not own any character of (The Last of Us) TLOU is owned by Naughty Dog and their creators.
> 
> A/N: I want to thank the people that are reading this story, I hope you like it. I really appreciate the review, so thankful for that too. Also for the favorite and follow. I still working on the following chapter so, for now, is going to a chapter for the week.

**Chapter 2: The Little Neighbor**

( Two weeks later )

After Joel went to town to get a few things done, and came back to finish unpacking. He needs to go back the next day, to buy a few more things to start the repair to the house. Also, have to buy a new fridge and some other furniture needed for the house. After two weeks of working on the house inside. Joel woke up early in the morning to start his work on the roof, lucky for him it didn't rain for the last two weeks, so he didn't have to deal with that until now.

After Joel had some breakfast, he went to the backyard of the house and started to cut the wooden boards that he was going to use to fix the hole in the kitchen roof and part of the living room. He was lucky that he didn't find any more holes in the rest of the house. After he finished cutting, he put the latter at the side of the house and started to get up the tools he was going to need. He used his hammer to take out the broken wooden boards and throw them down the roof. After he finishes with that part he gets down he grabs a few boards and goes up to the roof again and starts to put it the new ones. He was hammering the board when a voice came from the ground.

"Hey… you!... what the hell are you doing?"

With all the noise, Joel continued hammering, not hearing the person that it was trying to talk to him.

"Hey… you, the one on the roof?" said the person loader.

After a few minutes, Joel stopped and looked down. Then he saw a girl standing on the ground beside the latter looking at him.

Soon the girl saw that he noticed her, she asked again, "What are you doing up there? Did the owner hire you to fix it?"

Joel moves to the edge and looks at her. "And you are?"

Ellie rolls her eyes and gets frustrated about not finding an answer for this man. "You didn't answer my question," say the girl crossing her arms in front of her chest.

"I know a few people around here and I have never seen you before. Besides, this house has been abandoned for a long time, so I will ask again. Who are you and what are you doing here?"

Joel looked at her surprised that someone came here. "Do you always ask so many questions?" asked Joel while he moved to the latter and started to get down. Soon he was on the ground, he walked toward her. "Are you some kind of cop?

"No... but I walk around here a lot, so like to know who comes to life in this part of the town…

You never know what kind of people come to live here." the girl said in a harsh tone.

Joel smiles and looks at her with a grin on his face. He can't believe how this little girl can talk like this. "You're a little something, are you?" Joel moves toward the table where he has his tool.

"I'm not a little, I am 16 and you are still evading my question. Who are you and what you are doing in this house?"

Joel tries to stay relaxed. Her questioning started to get a little annoying. That is why he likes to be left alone and not talk to people. Joel gives her another look before he grabs a few more boards for the roof. "No, that all this is your business, but if you insist on knowing, I own this place now," Joel turned around and walked back to the adder. "Now if you finish with you questioning, I have a lot of work to do. So go back home, before your parents came looking for you,"

Ellie smiled, dropping as soon as she heard him say that. She only wants to know what he is doing here. So why does he have to be like that? "Ha, I have not even started… but it is good to have a new neighbor around here. And If you want to know, my parents are dead, so nobody is going to come to me."

Joel stops before he climbs up and turns his head to look at her. Now he feels like a jerk, he only wants to work in peace. But he doesn't have to treat her like that. "Look little girl I so-"

"Ellie…"

"Excuse me?" say Joel lowering the board to the ground.

"Ellie... My name is Ellie… not a little girl. Now, the polite thing to do is present yourself, so what is your name?" she said moving closer to him.

Joel shook his head and started to crush his beard with one hand. "Look… Ellie, I come here to be left alone… so if you don't mind I wanted to keep it that way. I'm so sorry about your parents, but if you don't mind I want to continue with my work."

Ellie gave him a strange look. " Well if you want to be left alone you came to the right town. Unfortunately for you, I live on the other side of the lake. So you will see me a lot."

Joel moves close to her and looks into her eyes. "Y'know, I can be a kid killer or a bank robber… someone that likes to do bad things… Nobody teaches you to not talk to strangers?"

Ellie looked at his face. She doesn't know why he tried to look bad, but she can't see any bad things about him. "Nahhh, I think you're a good person."

"And what makes you think that? you do not even know me."

"Well, I have a talent for that, y' know… For knowing people. It's like looking a person in their eyes, and I can tell if the person is good or not or if they are lying." Ellie was getting excited, she had not been talking with anyone like this in a long time, not even with her aunt. "Anyway… Like I said before, I live across the lake in that direction," she said pointing to the direction of the forest where the lake is.

Joel looked at the direction she pointed. "Go to the lake yesterday, and that is a little far from here, so what makes you walk all this distance?"

Ellie gave him a smile. "What can I say? I like to explore the forest on my own. Besides, it is not that far, is just like half an hour from my house to here, if you know the place of course."

"Alone!" said Joel with a surprised expression. "Is it not good for a girl to be walking alone in this woods. Are you not afraid that someone will see you alone out there and try to do something to you?"

"Nahhh… I have been living here for the last 5 years and I never have seen anyone try to do anything around here. Besides, I know how to take care of myself, so if one day someone tries anything, it is not going to end well for that person," She said with a smile on her face.

Joel gives her another look, no sure if a small girl like her can take down a full-grown man. "Well I'm not so sure about that, but if you said so… anyway, who is taking care of you? and are you not supposed to be in school or something too?"

"No, it is the summer dummy. School ended last week, so I have a lot of free time now…" Ellie put her hand on her waist. "Hey, maybe I can help you to fix this place. I can see that you have already started, but I can help you with the rest. This can be cool and maybe you-"

"Okay stop right there…" said Joel moving one hand up to stop her. "Are you crazy? Did I not just tell you that I want to be left alone?"

"Well… yeah, technically you said that you like to be alone. But you din;t say anything about me. Besides, who likes to be alone… well, I do some time, but it is not by choice.

Well, I think a girl like you is not supposed to be walking around in this forest or talking with strangers." Joel put his hand on her shoulder and turned her around. "Okay, your time is up, so why you do not just go back to your house and let me continue with my work. That is already being delayed by you," Joel continued pushing her toward the forest where she pointed early.

Ellie was struggling to get away from his hand. Who does this guy think he is? "Y'know… you don't need to treat me this way. I just want to be friendly, and if you tell me your name, maybe we can be friends."

Joel Push her until they get to the end of his backyard and the start of the trees. "Sorry, girl, but I don't need or look for any friends. I just came here to have a quiet life, without anyone coming here to bother me." He moved his hand from her shoulders and turned around. "Now go home and never come back." Joel walked back to the wall of the house, grabbed the boards he needed and started to climb up the ladder.

Ellie turned around. "Hey at least tell me your name."

Joel continued moving up, without looking back. "I am not going to give you my name, so go home kid."

Ellie watches him while he climbs up the stairs and gets back to the roof. "Okay, I can see that you don't want to talk right now. So I will be back tomorrow, maybe you will be in a better mood. See you around, Lone Ranger," Ellie turned and started to walk into the woods.

Joel turned around and watched her walking away. "You don't need to come tomorrow or any other day… I mean it… girl," he said aloud just to make sure that she hears him.

"Yeah whatever you said, man. I will see you tomorrow... Lone Ranger," Ellie replied before she disappeared between the trees.

"NO YOU DON'T… AND STOP CALLING ME THAT!" yell Joel to the girl, but she was already gone. He turned back and started to work on the roof again. "Shit! What is wrong with that girl…?" he said in a low voice while continuing with his work.

Soon Ellie saw that the man was not looking in her direction, she hid behind a tree and looked at him while he returned to his work. She stays there for a few minutes looking at him. She doesn't know why, but for some reason, she finds this man interesting. Maybe this summer is not going to be as boring as I thought. Ellie says to herself before walking away from the place.

It was late in the afternoon when Joel finished with the roof. So after he finished he picked up his tools, got down from the roof and went inside the house. As he works all day, he starts to feel tired, so he decides to go to bed early. So before he goes to bed, he takes a hot shower and eats something. Soon he touches the bed, he falls asleep in no time.

( The next day )

Joel opened his eyes as soon as the light of the sun entered his room. He turned his head and looked at the clock that was on a table beside the bed. He the clock in the closet inside a box, it was a miracle that still works. The clock showed that it was 6:00 in the morning, so he turned away and closed his eyes again. He doesn't want to get out of bed that early, especially if he doesn't need to go to work. But he still needs to fix a few more things in the house, so he needs to continue with that. But that can wait for later, right now he needs a few more hours of sleep.

After he sleeps for 2 more hours, he gets out of the bed and goes to the bathroom. Soon he gets out, he goes back to his room and changes into his working clothes. When he finished, he got out of his room and walked into the kitchen to start making some coffee and something to eat before he started the day. But when he looks around he notices that he doesn't have anything to eat for breakfast. So while he waits for his coffee to be done, Joel Walt toward the back door to start preparing the things he needs for the day. Soon he opened the back door and stepped out onto the back porch. He up his arm and take a deep breath, taking the fresh breeze of the morning. Shit, I need to go later to the store and buy a- he was saying to himself when he gets interrupted.

"Good morning Lone Ranger hope you get a good night's sleep,"

Joel jumped to the side as soon as he hears the voice. Then he turned to the side and saw the girl from yesterday sitting in an old chair that he put there a few days ago. "What the hell!"

Ellie got up from the chair, as she looked at his reaction "I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to scare you," she said with a soft voice.

"What the hell are you doing here? I thought that I was clear yesterday when I told you that you don't need to come back here." Say Joel walking into the backyard.

Ellie started following him "Yeah, you said that, but I thought that you said it because you're busy. So I do some thinking and decide to come over and see if you need some help. So that way we can start over and be good neighbors. So in a good fate, I bring you something," Ellie walked back to the parch and grabbed a gab there. Then come back to where Joel was and show him a plastic container with something in it. "Is a portion of the apple pie my aunt made yesterday. Don't worry is still good and I didn't put anything on it."

Joel looked at her with suspicious eyes. Yeah, he was a little hungry, and that pie for breakfast sounds delicious. But he wants this girl to go away and accepted is going to encourage her to stay or continue coming.

"I'm not hungry, so go back home and never come back here okay? I like my privacy and the last thing I need is people coming here to bother me," Then Joel starts walking toward the little shed the house has on the back.

Ellie takes a deep breath and calms herself. She only wants to know this man and maybe be his friend. So why is this man making things so difficult for her? So she put the vase with the pie on the table Joel had there and followed him. Soon she gets closer to him, she speaks again. "Why are you so rude? I just want to be a nice neighbor and help you. You don't have to be like that."

Joel does not even look at her, he just opens the shed door go inside and grabs his tools box. "I don't need to be nice to people if I don't want to, and if you don't like the way I'm, go home and never come back," he walked past her and put the box tools on the top of his working table. "Like I said yesterday, I have a lot of work to do, and I don't need some here bothers me."

Ellie walked to the table but didn't get too close to him. "Look I see what is going on here. You're just pushing me away because you think that I am just a kid. I don't know why you don't like people, but I already told you that I'm not a kid. I'm 16 and If you don't like kids that is fine, but it is not fair to treat me like that just because of that. I bet that if I was an older woman with a great body, you'd probably be fucking me by now," She said crossing her arms.

Joel stopped what he was doing and looked at her. "Are you're mental or something? Did you know how bad that sounds?"

Ellie looked at him with her eyes wide open. He was right that sound better on her mind. She looked to the side, trying to avoid his look. Her face was all red, so she needed to think about what to say next. So after a few moments, she lowered her arm and looked back at him. "Sorry, I don't mean to sound that way. But I really want to be your, friend, not many people come here these days, so… I don't have anyone to talk to. Is going to be good, having some to talk," she said with a sad tone.

Now Joel feels a little bad for talking to her like that, she is just a kid. But maybe it was better for her to stay away from him. "Look kiddo, I'm sorry to talk to you like that, I do not want to be rude or anything, but you need to understand that I like to be alone. Besides, it is not normal for a young girl like you to want to be friends with an old man like me." Joel saw Ellie lower her head and looked to the ground without saying anything. "Don't feel sad, you don't do anything wrong, but I think that you can have more fun with kids your own age."

Ellie turns around and starts to walk away. "I don't have any friends my age. But don't worry I will let you alone from now on," then she ran away before Joel could have said anything.

Joel watched the girl get into the forest, without looking back. That made him feel really bad because she only tried to be nice to him. He probably makes the girl cry too. But maybe this was for the best. He came here to be alone with his pain and stay away from trouble. But that does not make him feel better. At that moment he hears the sound of the coffee maker, so that means that the coffee was ready.

Joel starts walking fast toward the back door, but before he gets there. He saw the plastic container with the pie that the girl brought to him at the working table. He stood and picked it up and started to look at it. Shit! He looks toward the forest but can't see the girl anywhere. So he takes a deep breath and walks inside the house.

Joel put the container on the counter where the coffee maker is and proceeded to serve the coffee into a cup. After that, he sat in the chair, he started to drink his coffee. He watches the pie for a while, he feels bad for wanting to eat it after he drove the girl away. But when his stomach starts to sound hungry, that guilt disappears.


	3. A second chance to start over

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After the first encounter with the new neighbor, think don't get well. Joel has to admit that the girl's persistence was impressive. He thought that he scares the girl enough to leave him alone, but things do not always go the way you wanted.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I do not own any character of (The Last of Us) TLOU is owned by Naughty Dog and their creators.
> 
> A/N: First I want to thanks cakepop96 to being the one to inspired me to write this story. Also for sending me, the gift draw of a picture of Ellie & Joel. She wants me to use it here, but I did not find the way to do it, so I used it for the cover on the fanfiction site. Secondly, I want to thanks the rest of the people that are reading this story. Thank you for the comments and for being supporter, I never write AU modern for this two characters and I never expected this go so well so far. know that my grammar is not good, but I hope you still like the story.
> 
> Now let continue with the story.

**Chapter 3: A second chance to start over**

After what happens with the girl in the morning. Joel decided to not think about that and continues working with the cabinet doors that he needs to change. As he was working, he glanced toward the forest a few times, expecting the girl to come again. But after he finished working at 6:00 pm, the girl never came back. He feels a little bad to treat her like that, it is not her fault that he just wants to be alone and not speak to anyone if it is possible. It was better that way, that girl will be a distraction and trouble.

After he woke up the next day, Joel went to the back door and see if the girl was there again. He opened the door slowly and took a peck at the back porch expecting the girl to be there, but by his luck, she wasn't. So after that, he decided to drive to the town, to buy some groceries and food he needed and more material to continue his work on the house.

( One hour later )

After he changed and drank his coffee. Joel drives to the town and goes to the hardware store first to buy what he needs. So soon he parked his pick-up in front of the place he got out of the truck and entered the store. Soon he was in, Joel approached the counter and called the atender that seemed to be in the back room. "Hey, I need a few things"

The man walked out of the room and greeted Joel. "Good morning sir, what are you going to need today?" The man already knows Joel, well they don't talk much, but Joel is already by him. No, that he has much choice since his hardware store is the only one in town. Joel took out a list of what he needed and gave it to the man. The man takes the paper and starts to check it out. After a few minutes, he looks back at Joel. "Some of these things are out of stock, do you want me to make an order for you? I normally do an order once a month, but if you need them faster I can make a new order tomorrow."

Joel started to think, he was hoping to get what he needs today, but what can he do? "How long is it going to take to arrive here?" Asked Joel.

"Okay, let me see what I can do," The man moves to his computer and starts to check his inventory. After he finishes, he looks back at Joel. "The order is going to take one to two weeks to arrive. But if you need them quickly, you can try to go to the next town and see if you can find them."

Joel thinks for a moment. "No it's okay, I can wait for them there is no rush. Just give me what you have for now."

"Okay, excellent. I will order them tomorrow and I let you know when they arrive here. I will need your phone number. I notice that you're not opening an account here, but you already buy a lot of stuff here. Do you want to open one?"

"No, that is okay. I just buy what I need, so I don't need to do that."

"Okay, but I still need your phone to call you when the order arrives."

"I don't have a phone… yet. So I will come next week to check it out."

"Okay, whatever you like. Now, you can get what is on the front racks and my assistance will give you the rest that is on the back," the man turned around and called his employee. "Hey, Bob I have a customer that needs a few things from the back." The young man showed up and the owner gave him the note and sent him to the back.

10 minutes later, Joel put a few things that he found on the counter. "You seem to know a lot about construction. Do you have any experience?" the man asked in curiosity.

"I only fixed my house for now, but yeah I did some work in construction and as a handyman for a few years," replay Joel.

"Oh, that is good to know, we don't have many people that do that kind of work here. People around here always hire companies from out of town, but they don't do a good job. I always think that local people can do it better, but the few we have before, just left town. So if you need a job I can put a word for you."

Joel looks at the man for a moment. He wants to have as little contact with people as possible, but the money that he gets from his grandfather's will is not going to last forever.

So eventually he is going to need a job to get some money to live on. "I really appreciated that man, but I want to finish with my house first," he replied to the man.

"Oh, don't worry about it," the man said while adding the price of Joel things into the register. Anyway, people around here like to have a good job, so you should think about it. You can get some extra money doing that kind of job around here."

"Thanks for the offer, I will think about... thanks." After Joel finishes there he goes to the grocery store and buys what he needs for the week. After that, he drove back home. Soon he gets there he put the groceries in the kitchen, then he goes back outside and unloaded his truck. When he finished, it was already dark, so he went back inside the house and took a shower.

After he got out of the bathroom, Joel walked to the kitchen and grabbed a new bottle of whiskey and went to the living room. He put some pieces of wood in the fireplace and started the fire. Then he grabbed a little metal box that he has on the top of the fireplace and sat in a chair he has in front of it. Soon he was sitting, he opened the bottle and served some in a glass and drank it. Then he opened the little box and took out a picture and looked at it.

The picture was of him with a baby in his arms. It was taken in the hospital a few days before his daughter died. It was the only time that the doctor let them carry the baby, just to say goodbye. The picture shows him with a smile on his face, but inside he was dying that day. He told Tommy to take a few more pictures with the family, he still has a few more pictures of the baby, but the ones with her mother he burns them out. Even if it wasn't her fault that the baby died or their marriage was a disaster after that. He doesn't want to have anything to remember her. He continues looking at the picture while drinking.

I am so sorry, little Sarah… I tried to start over so many times… but sometimes it is so hard. I miss you so much… my little girl… I am always going to miss you. Some tears started to fall down his cheek while he looked at the picture. The only memory he has of his baby daughter. 

( Two days later )

Joel wakes up a little late in the morning. All that job in the house is making him tired, but there are still a lot of things he needs to fix and clean. Joel needs to wait for the other things he needs to continue, so he decides to get the day free and relax a little. So after he gets out of bed, go to the kitchen and have some breakfast. After that, he goes out of the house and walks into the forest behind his house.

After 15 minutes of walking around, Joel was checking the place to see if later he can grab his rifle and hunt a rabbit or something for dinner. He still doesn't know the area well, but a good walk in the area can help him to know the place around his house.

So after one hour of walking around, he arrived at the lake. While he continued walking beside the lakeshore, he found a little wood pier there. So he gets into the pier and walks to the edge and starts to look at the view. He can see the trees on the other side of the lake and the mountains behind it. It was a beautiful view, something he doesn't see back in Texas. He stayed there for a few minutes looking at the place.

"You're in my favorite space," says a person walking slowly behind him.

"Sorry… I didn't know that this was private property," said Joel before he turned around. When he turned, he saw that it was the girl from before standing behind him. "Oh… is you."

"Yeah, is me" she replied with a sad voice. "Don't think that I'm stalking you or something. I just came here sometimes to think or write something." Joel looked at her and saw that she had a notebook in her hand. Then he starts to remember all the things he said to her a few days ago and started to feel bad.

"Look, kiddo I'm really sorry for some of the things I said a few days ago. You were right I was a little rude, and it wasn't my intention to make you-"

Ellie walked at the edge of the pier and sat down. "Don't worry about it, I didn't cry if that is worrying you. ( she lies ) Look, I get that you want to be left alone, so don't worry I am not going to bother you anymore," she says with a sad tone.

Joel stays standing behind her while she looks at the lake without saying anything more. Joel can see that she feels hurt, and that was part of his fault. He should not talk to her like that, even if he was just trying to make her go and stay away from him. "Look, I'm not good with people or with words. But that is not an excuse to say all those things to you."

"Is okay dude, I already told you to don't worry about it. Now if you don't mind, I like to be alone… just like you." Ellie opens her notebook and looks for a blank page.

That makes him feel worse. It seems that this girl does not have many friends to talk to, even though she seems to talk a lot. He was going to leave, but he started to feel sorry for leaving the poor girl there alone. "Why do you like to be alone here? Is summer, do you not have school friends to pass the time with?"

Ellie turned her head and looked at him. "I don't… I don't think that is any of your business," then she turned back to continue watching the lake. "I don't think you even care, so why are you asking?"

"I do care... Besides, it is not good for a girl you age to be alone around here. Yes, I may be an asshole, but that does not mean that I will let something bad happen to you."

Ellie closes her notebook and stands up and turns around. "I have been living here for the last 5 years. I come here all the time and walk around the forest alone and nothing happens to me… ever." Ellie starts to walk away, but soon she passes beside Joel, he grabs her arm. "Let go of me you jerk!" Ellie yanked her arm away from Joel grab then she kicked him on the balls.

"FUCK!" Joel screamed in pain while grabbing his parts. He just fell down on the pier. "What... in the hell... did you do that for?" he said in a painful tone.

Ellie looked at him, with a mad expression. "I already told you that I can take care of myself… and if you tried to touch me again without my permission," she quickly moved one hand behind her back and took out a pocket knife out and pointed it at him. "I will cut them off," then she turned around and ran away.

Joel watched her go as he was still in pain on the pier floor. "Shit… this girl is really... something… Ouch." Joel stayed down for a few minutes until the pain was gone. Then he stood up and started to walk, but before he went far he saw the notebook that the girl had early on the pier floor. He picked it up and looked at it. She almost dropped before she ran away. Joel gives it another look around, trying to see if she is still there somewhere. "HEY GIRL… YOU DROP YOU NOTEBOOK," he yelled and waited for an answer for a few minutes. When he didn't get any, he looked at the notebook again. What should I do with this now?... Do I leave it here so she can pick up later or I take it with me? But if I do that and she comes looking for it and does not find it… she is probably going to think that I steal it. After thinking for a few minutes he decided to take the notebook with him. Yeah, maybe that is better. If I left it here another person can come and take it. Besides, she probably thinks that I have it, and comes to my house looking for it. And if she does that, maybe I can apologize. 

( A few hours later )

Joel was preparing his lunch when he heard someone yelling outside. "Hey, Lone Ranger! I think you have something that belongs to me and I wanted back," she said with a firm voice.

Joel stopped what he was doing and walked to the front door. Soon he opened it, he saw Ellie with a mad expression. "Hi, did you come to give me an apology?" he said in a mocking way.

Ellie rolled her eyes. She can't believe that this guy is such a jerk. The first time she saw him, she thought that he was cute, but now she is not so sure. "An apology... For what?" She said while crossing her arm on her chest.

Joel got out of the house and moved into the porch. "For kicking me… that really hurt you know!"

Ellie moved a little back. She is not scared of him, but if he tries something she will be ready. "Well, you deserve it… Did nobody tell you to not touch a girl without her permission? Now can you give me my notebook back?"

Joel smiled and shook his head. He can't believe that this girl can be so brave. So without saying anything, he turned around and went back inside. After a few minutes, he came back with the notebook in hand. Joel walks toward the girl and shows it to her. "Here! You can have it back."

He saw the girl moving back a little as soon as he got close to her. "Is okay girl… you can take it. I am not going to hurt you." said Joel moving toward her slowly. "I'm sorry that I took it, but I do not want to leave it there.

Ellie looked at him, then moved forward and grabbed the notebook. She looked at the book and put it closer to her chest. "Thank you, this means a lot to me, but I am not going to apologize for kicking you… you deserve that."

Joel smiled at that. "Yeah, I think I did. Besides, I owe you an apology. I don't mean to make you feel bad, or touch you when we're there..." Joel put one hand behind his neck and looked at the ground. I'm not good with apologies… or talking with people… so-"

"Is okay, I forgive you." Ellie gave him one last look, then turned around and started to walk away.

Joel up his head and looked at her. "Are you hungry?"

Ellie stopped and turned her head to look at him "What?"

"I ask if you're hungry. I was making lunch and I… I was wondering if you have not eaten anything yet, maybe you.. want some?" he said, a little timid at the end.

Ellie looked at him. She can't believe that after all that happens he is inviting her to lunch. "Are you inviting me to lunch?"

Joel started to feel weird, he didn't mean it like that, he just wanted to apologize to the girl for what he did early. Yes, he does not have the right to touch her, and he doesn't want her to think that he is some kind of pervert or something like that. "I just wanted to apologize for before, you're where right I should not touch you like that. I just wanted to tell you something before you leave and… anyway, that was something I should not do, so I am so sorry about that."

Ellie looked at him for a moment and tried to see if he was sincere. But after a few moments, she believed that he was. "What about if we start over?" She moved closer to him and stood her hand at him. "My name is Ellie, Ellie Williams."

Joel smiled at her, and after a moment he took her hand and checked it. "Nice to meet you Ellie Willians… My name is Joel, Joel Miller."

"Nice to meet you, Joel!" Both of them let go of their hand and smiled at each other. "See, this wasn't too hard right?"

Joel gave her a smile. "I guess not."

"Cool, now about that lunch… I will be happy to accept your invitation... I'm starving," Ellie said with a smile. But then she remembers something. "Oh, also I will need back the vase I brought you with the pie the other day. And if you didn't eat it I will after lunch."

Joel gives her a shy smile. "Hmm... about that."


	4. Starting something new

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After a bad start, Joel starts to get well with the new girl. Ellie was happy that Joel starts to like her and to be able to find someone to spend the summer.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I do not own any character of (The Last of Us) TLOU is owned by Naughty Dog and their creators.
> 
> A/N: I want to thank all the people that are reading this and like it. It is really a surprise for me, so thanks for the kudos and comments. 
> 
> Now let's continue with the story, hope you enjoy this chapter.

**Chapter 4: Starting something new**

"Wow… did you really eat it?"

"Yep… it was really good thanks… you can take the vase back after you eat lunch. Now follow me," Joel turned around and started walking toward the front door, but before entering he stopped and turned around. "Look, I don't know if it is okay for you to enter a stranger 's house, without the permission of your parents."

Ellie stopped in front of him. "Is okay… I still have my knife with me so if you try anything I will use it." She said with a smile on her face.

"Oh, yeah the knife… Y'know that it is illegal to carry a knife with you… right?"

"Well, I need something to protect myself… you know."

"I guess you're right. Just don't use it on me okay?" Joel turned around and opened the door. "Ladies first."

"Oh… thank you," even if she hadn't entered a stranger's house before, she feels good about this. Ellie likes the man from the beginning, and she feels happy that they passed their misunderstanding and maybe now they can be friends. "I can believe that you eat all the pie."

Ellie entered the house, followed by Joel. She starts to look around as soon Joel closes the door and walks toward the kitchen to continue with the cooking. He didn't want to tell her about eating the pie after all the shit he said to her. But now that things are cooler between them, if it feels good to tell her., "Okay this is going to take a little time, so do you want something to drink?" Say Joel looking at her from the kitchen.

Ellie was moving around looking at the place. "Okay, what do you have?"

Joel moved to the fridge and opened it. But see that he only has a few beers and a half carton of orange juice. Yeah, he needs to go to the store and buy a few more things. He wasn't expecting any visits, so now he doesn't have much to offer. "Sorry, I just have orange juice or water… what's going to be?"

"Juice is fine… thanks" She walked to the kitchen counter and sat in a chair there. "I have never seen a man cooking before. So I hope that I don't get poisoned with your cooking."

"Ouch! That hurt more than the kick," said Joel while putting the juice into a glass. He doesn't know why he feels so relaxed talking to this girl. He doesn't like to talk to anybody for a long period, but this feels okay to him.

Ellie looked at him and felt bad about it. "Oh, sorry about that. I didn't want to do that, I..just."

"Don't be sorry about it. Like you said I maybe deserve that."

Ellie smiles at that, then continue looking around the place. "Y'know, I have a confession to make. I entered this place a few times when I was 13 and started to explore the forest," she started as she was looking at the fireplace.

Joel looked at her with a surprised expression. "Really! That is trespassing Y'know. You can go to jell for that," he said in a mocking way.

"Well, no one came out when I called, so I went behind the house and found an unlocked window. I thought that someone was living here, so I went home. But I return a few days later and as not one answer my call I enter the house." Ellie stands up and walks through the living room. "I never see anyone come here after a few months, and when I get in the place looks like it was empty for a long time."

Joel continued looking at the girl. How she can be so calm in a stranger's house. "Well, you can't do that now. Because I will call the cops if I find you getting in through a window," he said with a humorous tone.

Ellie walked toward the kitchen again and sat in a stud that was in front of the kitchen counter. She put her hands on her cheeks and leaned forward while looking at Joel cooking. "Did you buy this place? I mean, like you will stay living here forever?"

Joel put some meat inside the stewpot that was on the stove already. And start cutting some vegetables. "Are you going back to detective mode?"

Ellie smiled at that. "Well, if we're going to be friends, we need to know each other no you think?"

Joel turned around quickly. "Hey, hold it right there. Who said anything about being friends. I just invite you to lunch as an apology for being a jerk. I don't really want this to be a routine."

Ellie leans back and looks at him seriously. "Really? I thought that we had a connection. Why don't you want us to be friends? Because I am 16? That is discrimination dude." Say Ellie while crossing her arm on her chest.

Joel walked at the counter and looked directly into her eyes. "I'm 40 years old and I don't think it is a good idea for us to be friends. Besides I don't want you, parents or anybody, around here to get the wrong idea, okay."

"What wrong ideas? Being friends with someone is not a bad thing. And I can be friends with whatever I want, there is no law against that. And if you worry about my parents, I don't have any. I live with my aunt, that works a lot and is not at home very often. Besides, I don't really care what other people would think about this, because it is not their business."

"Well, I do, because I don't want to go to jail if someone saw you coming here all the time. They may think that I am doing something to you and call the cops," said Joel with a firm voice.

She saw how Joel's face was getting red. So she decided to play him a little. "Ha, ha, ha… Really? What bad things will they think you will do to me?"

Joel turned around to avoid her staring. you know… things that… a man and…" he turned back a look at her. Then he saw her how she covered her mouth trying to hide her laugh. "You think this is funny?"

"Yes…" she said while laughing. "You can't even say sex… in front of me." She continued laughing. "Dude I 16 not a baby… we talk about all that in school. You don't have to be shy about it."

"Well, I'm glad that you find this amusing… but I don't want to go to jail for that."

"you don't need to worry about that, I am not going to think anything bad about you. And if you worry about other people, there's not a house close to this one in a few miles. So no one is going to see me coming here. Like I told you before I walk around here all the time and the closest house is Miss Jackson and she is like 80 years old, she doesn't even get out of her house much. She also called someone to deliver food and things from the town to her house. I know because I did it a few times myself."

Joel turned around and checked the food. "Anyway, it is not right for a 40 years old man to get closer to a 16 years old girl. Besides, I am sure that your aunt is not going to like that either."

"I don't think she will care much," she said while crossing her fingers together and leaning forward. Like I said before, she travels a lot.

Joel turned around and looked at her again. "She leaves you alone or left someone to take care of you?"

"I don't need anyone to take care of me. I'm a big girl, not a baby. I can take care of myself." Ellie leans back to the chair. She hates when people treat her like a little girl.

Joel used a spun to move the stew. "Anyway, why do you want to be friends with an old man? Don't you have any friends your age?"

"No," she said, turning her head to the side. "I already told you that I don't have any. Kids around here are so immature and dumb. They think I am weird because sometimes I'm smarter than them. They only like to talk about teenage things and I like to talk about adult things, so I prefer to be by myself."

Joel looked at her and started to feel bad for her. It is not good for a girl her age to feel like nobody cares about her. And don't have any friends? It's worse. But he needs to keep himself away from her. And to be honest, the last thing he needs right now is to get close to someone. "Well, the food is almost ready. So after you eat, you can go home. I have a lot of things to do, so is better if-"

"I can help!" she interrupted him. "If you don't want us to be friends then maybe I can do some work around here. I know how to clean, and this place needs some cleaning, no offense. I am good at organizing things. Also, I am good with my hands, so I can help you with your work too if you need some help with that too. I'm a fast learner, so you can teach me how you do things."

Joel laughed a little on that. "You don't give up, do you? You're a persistent girl, I can give you that."

Ellie stands up and starts to move around the living room. "Yeah, that is right mister. When I put my mind to something, there is no one who can stop me. Look, I never do anything important during the school summer, and sometimes it is so boring. My aunt travels a lot during the summer so I will spend most of the time alone at home. So I can use the distraction and if I get some money out of it that would be super too.

Joel starts to think, about how all that happens in a few days end into this? He came here to be alone. Yes, he promised his little girl to move on, to stop being the ass and start over again. But he wants to take his time. But now this girl came here and changed everything. Even if he doesn't want to, he can use a little help around here. But is it right for this girl to come to his house every day? And what people are going to think if someone sees her here or if her aunt knows about this and calls the cops? "I don't know kiddo, I don't think this will be a good idea. Besides, if I give you a job, you need to ask your aunt first."

She stops moving around and walks back to the counter. "Oh… c'mon looking at this place, I can help you and this could be a benefit for both of us. I will get some extra money and you can finish quickly. I am not going to be a problem, I just come here and do my job. I'm not going to bother you… much," she said the last part with a smile on her face. "What do you say... hmm?"

Joel shook his head and smiled. "I will think about, okay? And I can't promise you anything," Joel moved to the stove and tasted the food to see if it was ready.

"Yayyy... You would say yes in the end, I can promise you that. Now, I hope that the food is ready because I'm hungry!"

Soon after the food was done, Joel served Ellie a plate with the stew he made, by the time they finished, Ellie ate 3 plates of it.

After that Ellie says goodbye to Joel and goes back home with a smile on her face, knowing that tomorrow will be a new start for her. She was right about Joel, and even though he was a jerk at first he seems to be a good person. Joel on the other has to finish a few things until it gets dark and he calls the day. After he takes a shower and eats something, he goes to bed and falls to sleep.

( Next day)

Joel opened his eyes and looked at the clock, and saw that it was 8:00 am. He turned his head and looked at the ceiling. He still feels tired since he barely got any sleep. He spent part of the night thinking about the girl. He wasn't sure if he was doing the right thing by letting that girl come to his house. She seems like a nice girl, but something inside him is telling him that all this is probably going to end badly.

After a few minutes of thinking, Joel decides to get out of bed and continue with his work. So he sat on the edge of the bed and put on his house shoes. Then he stood up and walked toward the door and opened. He was walking toward the bathroom when he hears a knock at the door. Who the fuck is knocking at the door... at 8:10 am? I don't know anybody around here so who can be? he said to himself while walking toward the door. "Who is it?" he asked before it opened.

"Is me, your friendly neighborhood… Spider-Man… Nah… is just me Ellie"

Shit. He grabbed the knob of the door and opened it. "What are you doing here? And this early?"

Ellie put her hands on her back and started to move her upper body side to side "You said that I can come to work… remember?" Ellie looked at him and noticed that he was wearing a sleeveless shirt and shorts. She quickly changed her head and looked at his face. Her check started to get red.

"What do you mean about that? I never told you to come today, I remember telling you that I was going to think about it," says Joel looking at her until he noticed what he was wearing. "Holy shit… Sorry about this… just wait outside while I change," Joel quickly closed the door and ran toward his room.

Ellie moves away from the front porch and starts to walk around while looking at the trees waiting for Joel to come out. A few minutes later the front door opened again.

Ellie turned around and saw Joel walking out of the house with more decent clothes. "So when can we start?" she asked while getting closer to him.

Joel was surprised at how determined this girl was when she wanted something. And he is not sure if that is a good thing. He thinks most of the night about what to do with this girl, and now that she is here, he doesn't know what to do with her. "Look, I told you that I will think about it. I never tell you to come today," Joel watched her for a moment. She was wearing a red t-shirt with a yellow circle picture in the front. She also was wearing blue jeans and a baseball cap. Her hair was tied up in a ponytail that stuck out of the back of her hat.

"Ahhh, c'mon... I'm already here, so why don't we just try to do a little something as a test? And if you don't like my work, well you can fire me. What did you say?"

"Do you really want to do this... Are you?"

"Yessss. As I said, it is going to be a boring summer, so I prefer to do something to pass the time."

Joel gives her a look, then he put a grin on his face. "Okayyy, you're asking for it," Joel turned around and started walking. "Follow me."

Ellie follows him into the house. And soon she was in, she noticed that there were some empty beer cans on the floor and some dirty clothes everywhere. "Do you want me to clean the living room first?" she asked while watching Joel go to the kitchen and start looking for something.

"Maybe later, but first I need you to do something else." Ellie was curious now on what he wants her to do. Joel came back a few minutes later with a bucket in hand. "Come with me," he said as he passes beside her and continued walking toward the small corridor that took to his room and the bathroom. Soon he gets to the door in front of his room, he stops and passes the bucket to Ellie. "Here, you can start with this?" he said he opened the door of the bathroom.

Ellie grabbed the bucket and moved to the entrance of the bathroom. She opened her eyes wide when she saw the condition of the place. "Do you want me to clean this?" she asked, pointing inside the bathroom. "I don't even want to ask how you are using this… it looks like… shit!

"Well you said that you want me to give you a job, so if you do a good job here, I will let you know my decision today. But if you do not like to do it, you can go home and forget about all this," Joel was certain that this is going to make her run home and never come back here. He knows that kids don't like to do this kind of work, so maybe this was a better way to solve this than telling her to go home and never come back. "So what did you say? Are you ready to get your hands dirty?"

Ellie looked at the bathroom than at him. "Okay, I will do it. But if I find something gross in there I will charge you extra." She moves past him and enters the bathroom.

"Okay then," said Joel clapping his hand. "Call me if you need something or when you finish. I will be outside doing a few things," he turned around and walked away.

After Joel went out, Ellie put the bucket down and started to look at the place. It looks like Joel did some cleaning before but the place is still a mess and has some stains. I know what you're trying to do dude, but if you think that I get scared that easy you're making a mistake, mister. Ellie grabbed the cleaning things that Joel put in the bucket and started.

Joel was outside working with the truck motor since he tried to use it yesterday and it didn't start. After two hours working on that he found the problem and fixed it. Soon he finished he noticed that Ellie didn't come out of the house yet or at least he didn't see her running and screaming. So he decided to get back inside and see if she was still there.

Joel went into the house and walked to the bathroom and soon he got to the entrance, he saw her bending down on the bathtub with her back toward the door. He looked at her for a moment as her ass was moving with some rhythm. He also hears some mumble coming from her direction, then he noticed that she had some headphones on her ears.

Joel looked away from her and started to look at the place. Yeah, he cleans it a little when he moves in, to kill germs, but now the bathroom looks much better. "Nice work," he said while moving closer to her. He thought that this was going to scare the shit out of her, but he was wrong. He moves a little closer and touches her on the back. "Hey you did a nice-" he moved back when Ellie jumped at the touch.

"Ahhhh!..." She turned around and took her headphones off. "What the hell man, are you trying to scare the shit out of me?" Ellie stands up while watching Joel with his eyes wide open. She takes her gloves off and put them aside. "You should know, not to touch somebody when they're distracted."

"Sorry I don't mean to scare you, I just…" he said with his hands in front of him.

Ellie calms down and stands up. "Is okay I have already finished. Man this place was a disaster, I cleaned the best I could. The sink and the bathtub are fine. I give them a good clean and now they look better. But I think that you should change the toilet. The stain at the bottom is uncleanable, and it looks bad." she starts to tell him.

"Oh, thanks. I will add that later to my list of things to buy and fix," he said looking at the place. "I think you did a great job, is very impressive, I never thought that-"

"That girl like me will like to do this kind of job?" said Ellie while starting to pick up a few things.

"Yeah… No offense, but kids you age always like to hear music or be with boys or girls and do all those kinds of things they do. And left the housework to their parents."

Ellie finished gathering the cleaning things and put them back on the bucket. "Well, Lucky you, I don't do what other teen kids do. I don't like this much, but as my aunt is barely at home I have to do it back home. But it is better if you get paid for it," she passed him and walked out of the bathroom. Joel makes a last look at the bathroom, then follows her. Joel watches Ellie go out to the back and put the bucket on a wood table he has there. "Okay, I finish with that, so what can I do next?" She asked Joel soon after they got out of the house.

"Well, I don't think you would do it, so I don't have anything more for you. But you did a good job, so let me grab my wallet and pay you for that-"

"Are you kidding? Is not even noon and I can help you with other things," Joel looked at her, as she started to move around and pick up things from the ground and put them on the table he had there. "Do we have a deal, remember? If you like my work you would give me a summer job," she said looking at him. "I think that I did a good job with the bathroom, so am I hiring or not?" please say yes… please? She said to herself.

Joel looks at her not knowing what to say to that. Yes he makes a deal, and he can use a little help around, but having her here is going to complicate things. And even if he is getting some distraction with her, it is not appropriate to have a minor in his house. "Sorry kiddo, but hiring a minor is against the law. Besides, there is not much that you can do here anyway."

Ellie started walking and stopped in front of him. "That is stupid man, minor do those this kind of work all the time. And we have a deal, so it is not a good thing to break it, just because I'm a girl."

Joel doesn't know what to do now. Yes, he does not want her here because if people saw them together they would think that they are doing something wrong. He can see that this girl needs some attention too, and not having any friends is bad for her. He really wants to help her, but there is nothing he can do about it. Hire a minor is illegal without the permission of their parents.

"Look, it is not like I don't want to hire you because you're a girl... well in part it is, but that is not the main point here. The thing is that for me to hire you I need permission from your parents or the person in charge of you."

Okay, so what if I don't charge you, I mean if I work for you free you're not hiring me so it is not illegal if I do you a favor."

"Yeah, there is no law against that, but I can let you do things for free." Joel watched how Ellie put a sad expression and lowered her head. "Okay, let's do this. If you bring me a permission sign from your aunt authorizing you to work here, I can give you a few things to do… okay?"

"Yessss!" Ellie starts jumping on the excitement and runs toward him. She jumps at him and hugs him. "Thank you, thank you…thank you. You're not going to regret this, and I promise to do my best." said Ellie moving away from him.

This is not a yes yet. Remember you need to bring me that permit or I can't hire you."

"Oh, don't worry, I will bring that tomorrow. This is going to be cool, thanks. I'm sure you're not going to be sorry for it." she said with some excitement.

I think I already did kid, He said to himself. Then the girl hugged him again, but this time she didn't let go of him.


	5. Working together

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After Joel and Ellie start over. Ellie was happy to find someone to talk too. So after Joel agrees on to let her help in the house a new kind of friendship is born.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I do not own any character of (The Last of Us) TLOU is owned by Naughty Dog and their creators.

**Chapter 5: Working together**

After a few minutes, Ellie let go of Joel and moved away from him. "Sorry about that, I think I get too excited," she said while her cheeks start to turn red.

"I reckon so… so try to keep that to yourself next time," he said in a mocking tone. "Anyway, the house is not big, so you don't need to come every day to work. And if your aunt gives you permission, I have some conditions for you to come here."

"Conditions?" Ellie looks at him a little clueless.

"Yes, conditions and you need to agree to them, if you want to continue coming here. But first, let's eat something, I bet you're hungry after all that work." Joel started to walk toward the back door of the house, while Ellie followed him until they were inside.

Joel walked to the kitchen and started to get out a few things from the fridge. Ellie sat on the stud in front of the counter. "What kind of conditions are we talking about?" asked Ellie while putting her hand on her cheeks and leaning forward.

Joel grabbed two Slade of bread from the bag and put it on a plate. "Well, first; you need to stop coming here so early, you don't need to do that. Second; Come in working clothes or bring extra, you don't know if you are going to do some work they will get you dirty. Also, I will pay you at the end of the day, since I don't know if you need the next day." Joel finished the first sandwich and passed it to Ellie.

Ellie took the plate and gave it a bite to her sandwich. "That sounds good to me."

"Well, that is good. Maybe it would be better if I go to your house and talk to your aunt. I don't want her to think that I am taking advantage of you or something."

"No... I mean you don't need to do that. I can talk to her about having a little summer job. She will be glad to hear that I will be doing something to help someone. Besides, as I said before, she will travel a lot so you don't need to worry about her."

"What do you mean by that? Is she not supposed to take care of you?"

"She does when she is at home… but as she travels a lot, I normally take care of myself. Looks I am 16, not a baby, I don't need anyone to take care of me, I can do that myself."

"Well, that is not a normal thing to do from an adult to negligent someone like that. Maybe you need to talk to someone about-"

"No, I don't need to talk to anyone, I'm perfectly fine. And I don't think it is illegal for a 16 years girl to be alone in her house. I like when she is out, that way I can do my things."

"Okay… okay," said Joel, putting his hand in front of him. "Now the third one is the most important of all. I do not want you to ask me any personal questions, okay? I like my privacy and I like it to keep it that way. When you come here, it is only to work and nothing more is okay. So any questions you want to ask me that have nothing to do with the job, keep it to yourself."

Ellie moved back and rolled her eyes. "That is not fair, how we are going to be friends if we don't know anything about each other."

Joel finished preparing the other sandwich and took a bite. "I never said anything about being friends," Joel moved to the fridge and grabbed a bottle with juice. "I already told you that I want to be left alone. I will give you a job to do for a few weeks and nothing more."

Ellie grabbed the sandwich from the plate again and took another bite. "Ahhh… you take the fun out of it... How we can work together... if we're not going to be friends," she said with her mouth full of food.

Joel gave her a look. "That is easy, you just do what I said, then go home. I don't know why you want to be friends with an old man anyway. And stop talking with your mouth full, that is gross," he finishes putting the juice in two glasses and gives one to Ellie. "Here before you chook with your food." They stay looking at each other's faces while eating their sandwich.

After a few minutes, Ellie answered him. "It's not like I like to be friends with old people. But I like to have some interesting conversations and I think you're very interesting. I can see that you don't like to be around people much, but I bet that before the summer ends we're going to be best friends. And for the record, I don't think you're that old," said Ellie with a smile on her face.

Soon they finish, Joel walks out of the kitchen and toward the living room. "Okay, I have to go to town and do a few things. So you can go home now and come back tomorrow at noon."

"Can I go with you? I don't have anything to do at home."

"Sorry, but it is better if no one sees us together in town. I don't want people to start talking."

Ellie isn't happy about that, she wants to spend more time with this guy and knows more about him. But that is going to be a job for another day. So without saying any more words she got out of Joel's house and went back to her home. But on the way, she starts thinking that in the end, she will be more than just Joel an employee.

Ellie comes back the next day with a note signed by her aunt saying that she let Ellie work for the summer. Joel found that a little suspicious, because it didn't say anything about him, or asked to meet him or what job she is going to do. Joel told her that maybe it was better if he talked to her. But Ellie insists that as if this was not an official job it is okay for her to come. Ellie has to use a lot of convincing to make Joel let her help him and after a few hours of talking he gives in. He told her that she can come to help him with a few things and that he will pay her for that. But make her promise to not tell anyone, besides her aunt, because he doesn't want to get into trouble.

( Two weeks later )

As Joel promised her, he gave Ellie a few things to do for a few hours a day. But even that he was glad for the little help with the house. He doesn't understand why she was always so happy to come to work. Joel thought that she must be feeling so lonely because kids of her age normally like to do other things that do not have to involve work.

After a while, Ellie started to ask him personal questions, like where he came from and what he did before coming here. She asked him all kinds of questions, trying to get some information about him. But of course, Joel always reminds her about the deal on not asking him anything personal. So as he doesn't answer them, she starts to tell him things about her. She usually doesn't have anyone to talk about things, no one in school or not even her aunt. So she was happy that Joel at least listened to her.

After Ellie helped Joel to clean the entire house and organize a few things he told her to take a few days free and to come back the next week. Ellie gets a little sad about that, but those days that she didn't come to work. She came by the house without Joel's notice and hid behind the trees, to watch Joel from a distance. Sometimes she came with her notebook and sat under a tree while watching him cutting some wood and working on the shed. Ellie doesn't know why, but working with Joel makes her happy, and not feel so lonely. She hasn't had any friends since she came to live here, so she doesn't have anyone to talk to. Yeah, she had her aunt, but she always was working and never had much time for her to talk about things. So that is why Ellie likes to spend her free time doing things and walking around the forest. But now that she is spending too much time with Joel. She had someone to talk about the things she did, and even if Joel didn't say anything about him, Ellie hopes that with time he will change his mind.

After Ellie time free passes. Ellie came back to Joel's house to continue with her work. But soon she arrived, Joel received her with a brush and told her that they were going to paint the kitchen and living room. As Ellie didn't come prepared for that, Joel gives her some old clothes for her to use, so that way she doesn't stain hers.

Ellie was in the bathroom changing her clothes when she noticed that the clothes were not going to fit her. "Hey Joel, I don't think that your pants are going to fit me," said Ellie from inside the bathroom.

Joel was preparing the painting when he heard Ellie. "I see. Okay, maybe we can do this tomorrow, so that way you can come with some other clothes," replay Joel.

"No, no… is okay. I'm already here, so let's start this." Ellie starts doing something in the bathroom. "Maybe... if I can… bingo! Okay, this will work fine," after a few minutes, Ellie opened the door and got out of the bathroom. Joel looked at her speechless. Because Ellie was just wearing the long t-shirt he gave her with pants.

"Are you kidding me? You can't work here like that," said Joel while looking at her from top to bottom.

Ellie looked down and watched her legs. "Why? The t-shirt covers everything, so what is the problem?"

"What is the problem? That you're not wearing any pants. You can't work like that, here," Joel was going to walk away, but Ellie moved fast and grabbed the roller out of his hand.

"Is okay Joel I can do this. Besides I don't think that any of your pants are going to fit me...so let's do this," she walks toward one of the walls that Joel had ready and put the roller on the printing plate. Joel turns around and watches her when she bends over and starts painting the wall. "If we're going to paint all the living room we need to move a few things."

Joel shook his head and walked toward her. "Look kiddo, I can't let you work like that… is not appropriate okay."

Ellie ignores him at first and continues painting the wall. "I don't see what the problem is, the only thing that you can see is my lower legs," then she stops and looks at him.

"Yeah, but you're 16 and it is not good to be in the presence of a man without pants."

"Well, is that bothering you, don't look at me. And if we don't finish today, I will come tomorrow more prepared for this," Ellie turned around and continued with the painting. "But if it makes you feel better, you can start with the kitchen so that way you don't need to look at me," she adds with a smile.

Joel watches her as she continues, knowing that he is not going to win this argument. So he just decides that for today let her work like that. He will do what she suggests and go to the kitchen and work there, so that way he doesn't have to see her like that.

Half an hour later Ellie starts with the question again. "So you're from Texas?"

Joel hears her from inside the kitchen. "What I told you about asking personal questions?"

Ellie stops painting and looks at his direction. "Oh, c'mon, that is not even a personal question. I can say for your accent that you came from any of the southern states. Besides we've been working together for more than two weeks. And I told you a lot of things about me, is just fair that you tell me something about you, don't you think?"

Joel doesn't answer her, right away. He starts to think about that. Did he really want this girl to know things about him? Yeah, they're been working together for the last three weeks, but that doesn't mean that they will befriend just like Ellie said. But maybe a little information about him is not going to do any harm. "Yeah, I'm from Texas, I've lived there almost all my life," Joel doesn't like to talk about his personal life with anyone. So he doesn't understand why this girl is making him feel right to talk about it now.

"See, that wasn't so hard. I already knew that you were from Texas, that was why I called you Lone Ranger when we met for the first time." She said with some giggle on her tone. "I don't know why, but I like to watch old western movies," she said while resuming her painting.

"Yeah? That adds, I never see a young lady like old western movies. But living in Texas is like a tradition to people as guns too. I really loved watching them when I was a kid. I saw them all the time with my little brother-" Joel stopped as soon as he noticed that he was talking too much about himself.

Ellie turns her head and looks at the kitchen and smiles. From her position, she can't see Joel there, but she was happy to know something about him. Well, she hopes to find more about him in the future, since he doesn't say anything about him since she started coming to his house. She wanted to ask him more things about himself but it is better for now to leave things like that. But that was a good start and she doesn't want to ruin it. "So… after you finish with the fixing, what are you going to do next?" she asked while continuing with her work

Joel stayed quiet for a moment before he answered her. "Well, finishing with the house completely is going to take a little more time. But after that I guess that I will find a job or something, my serving is not going to last forever."

"Oh, that is nice… do you have any job in particular? There are not many choices around here, believe me, there are not many people around here," Ellie was smiling, this is the first time that she really has some kind of conversation with Joel, that it doesn't involve work.

Joel doesn't answer her right away, he takes his time for that. "I was thinking about handyman work. I'm good with my hands, so I think I will try that first."

Ohhh...Yes, you're. I watch you all those days on the back of the house. What the hell that confront? Ellie said to herself while her face turned red. Then after a few minutes, she talks again. "Yeah sure, you can try that. I see the way you're fixing this house, all by yourself, people around here are always looking for that kind of work."

"Yeah, the man from the hardware store told me the same. So what about you? What you're going to do when the summer is over... kid? Well, besides school I mean."

Ellie's smile drops as soon as she hears him calling her like that. She wants to be more adult, especially in front of him. She doesn't want him to look at her like she is a little girl. After she calms down Ellie answers the question. "Yeah, I will be back in school, but at least now I have someone to talk to. Speaking of that, can you give me your phone number? It will be better if we keep some kind of communication in case something comes up."

"Sorry kiddo, but I don't have a phone."

"Really! No, even a cell phone?"

"Nope… I had one before, but as I don't speak to people much these days I don't need it," Joel replied to her.

Ellie stood up from her previous position and walked towards the kitchen counter. "That is a lame excuse, nobody can live without a phone. What if you have an emergency or something?"

Joel was finishing the back wall when he heard Ellie closer. So he stopped and turned around. "I didn't say that I never have one. I just said that I don't need it now," Joel said that to the girl, but his real reason for not having a phone is that nobody can call him, especially his brother. "If I need something. I just go to town and use a payphone."

Ellie rolled her eyes. "Well, I think you are going to need one now. If you are going to look for a job, people are going to need your phone number to call you. Besides everybody needs a phone these days, even the one that does not like to talk to people."

Joel looks at her knowing that she is right. If he needs to start looking for a job soon, he will need to start looking for one. "Well, maybe you're right, but I don't like cell phones much. So maybe I can put a land-line here, I think that I saw the connection of one somewhere in the house."

Ellie laughed a little on that. "A land-line phone, nobody uses that any more dude. You need a real phone. If you're going to work for yourself you will need a cell phone."

"That is not true, stores have land-line phones too. So if I install one of those people can call me here," try to defend himself.

"Yeah, but you're not going to work in a store are you? Besides, a cell phone is a better option, since you can take it everywhere. Wow now that I think about it, I didn't ask for your number when I started to come here. So I didn't notice that you don't have any phone," Say, Ellie, watching Joel's expression.

Joel put the paint roller down and moved to clean his hand on the sink. "I don't like cell phones… But I will think about it." He doesn't want to talk about the real reason for not having a phone. He started to remember the conversation with his ex-wife or his brother. And either of those was not pleasant. The last thing he wants is to remember his ex-wife or the reason their marriage ended. "I think we can take a little break, what did you say?"

"Yey… I am not tired. We only painted for like an hour, but I can use the break." Ellie walks back to the living room and put the roller down.

Joel walked out of the kitchen with a coke in one hand and a beer in the other. Yeah, he thought that it was not good to drink in front of her but he needed it. "Here you go kiddo," he said, moving close to her and offering her the drink.

Ellie turns around and grabs the coke. "Thanks, I can use-" Ellie stopped as soon she saw Joel with a beer in his hand. Hey… why don't I get one of those?"

Joel looks at her, then walks toward the back door of the house. "Sorry kiddo but you need to be 21 for that."

Ellie watches him go out of the house and follows him. She doesn't like it when he calls her that. Soon she opened the screen of the back door. She saw Joel sitting in one of the chairs there. Now that Joel turned down the broken screen and wood from the back porch are all opened?

"Are you going to fix this the way it was?" she asked while sitting on the other chair there.

"I don't know." he takes a sip on his beer. "Maybe… or maybe I will make it open. Just put on some railing or something."

"Well, that sounds good, but you can't sit here during the night or the insects are going to eat you."

Joel starts to think of that. Yeah… that is true. Anyway, what did your aunt say when you asked permission to come here and do some work?"

Ellie looked at the side. She didn't say much. Like I said she works a lot and we don't talk much about anything, except school things or if I need to do something in the house.

Joel started to feel sad for her. That maybe is the reason she is looking for some attention from

him. "Listen, kid, that is not right, she is the adult in the house, so she is supposed to take care of you. Maybe it will be a good idea if I go to your house and talk to her."

Ellie turned around her head quickly. "No! If you do that she is going to freak out and never let me come here or just call the cops on you for nothing," Joel noticed that she was starting to freak out. But maybe he needs to do something, this girl has left alone a lot and that is wrong.

"Okay, kid. I will leave things like this for now, but it is not right that you have been left alone like that, especially from your aunt."

"Oh, that is okay. She is good and taking care of a kid is not easy. I just don't want her to change her mind and not let me come here anymore."

Joel doesn't know what to say to that. Apparently, this girl really needs a friend, so maybe he can be one for now. "Okay, I think the break is over, let's finish this."

"Okay," replied Ellie while standing up.


	6. The Start of a Friendship

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It is being a few weeks since Joel and Ellie met. And after Ellie asked Joel for a job, both of them work on the house for the last two weeks. Even that Joel doesn't like to talk much to people, they start to know each other. Now, something new is starting to come between them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I do not own any character of (The Last of Us) TLOU is owned by Naughty Dog and their creators.
> 
> A/N: I want to thank the people that are reading this story. And thank you for the comments and all the kudos. It makes me happy to see people interesting in this and like it. 
> 
> And now lest continue with the story.

**Chapter 6: The start of a Friendship**

It took Joel and Ellie a few days to finish painting the house. After that, Ellie came to help Joel with a few other things. Joel wanted to finish the back porch, so Ellie wants him to teach her how to cut the wood and do other things. She was not really interested in that kind of work, but it was a good excuse to come since she already finished with the things inside the house. While teaching her how to do a few things, they talk more about themself. Well more Ellie than Joel, but he did tell her a few more things about him and that makes Ellie happy.

Sometimes when Ellie goes back home, her aunt asks her where she went all day. But Ellie only told her that she goes to the lake to pass the time and write. Yeah, she told Joel that her aunt knows about the job and him. But the truth is that she only told her that she was doing some errands for some people and the rest of the time she was on the lake or walking in the forest. Sometimes she told her that she goes to a friend's house to spend some time there.

She was lucky that her aunt believes her, and only tells her to be careful and that she needs to get back to the house before the sunset. Ellie doesn't want to lie to either of them, but if she tells her aunt about Joel, she is never going to let her go there again. She will think that Joel is just a sick man that wants to take advantage of her. She knows that Joel is a good person, he is a little quiet and sometimes seems sad, but she knows that he is never going to do anything to her.

When Ellie is not with Joel, she stays in her room most of her time after she does the things in her house. When she is alone in the house, Ellie writes in her diary things that happen during the day. But after spending too much time with Joel, she noticed that she is writing a lot about him. Being with him somehow makes her happy and not so lonely. She doesn't care about the fact that he is way older than her because when she is with him it makes things look better for her. She doesn't know why, but somehow Joel makes her feel better.

( Two weeks later )

"Are you going to tell me where we are going?" asked Joel while he followed Ellie on a path inside the forest.

"Don't worry we're almost there, I think. I always go there from my house, so maybe 5 minutes more," she replied without looking back.

Joel looks around watching his surrender. "Yeah, you said that 10 minutes ago. And you're not the one carrying all these things.

Yesterday Ellie came to Joel's house and as he does not have any job for her, Ellie offered herself to show him a good place to go fishing. So after one hour of talk torturing, he accepted the offer and told her to come the next day and take him there. So today Ellie shows up at his house with a backpack and a fishing rod. After Joel gets ready, they walk out of the house and go into the forest.

"You said that you like fishing and hunting, so you should be enjoying the trip. This place is beautiful and a lot of people come to this place during the summer. I can tell you where all the good places are here. I have been exploring this place for the last 4 years," After that Ellie stopped in front of a big fallen tree. Soon Ellie starts to climb a fallen tree, so that way they can cross to the other side. "You see this tree, it wasn't there last year. We had a big storm here last winter and a lot of trees fell down. Lucky for us this is the only one that blocks this path, so that means that we're close now." says Ellie while she was getting to the top of the fallen tree. Soon she is on the top, Ellie starts looking to the other side. "Yeah, we're close, I can see the lake from here."

Joel stops as soon as he gets in front of the tree. "I don't think I can climb that with all this," Joel started to put a few things down to the ground.

Ellie turned around and looked down at him. "Okay I can help you with that," Ellie got on her knees and bent down to grab some of the things that Joel was carrying. "I don't know why you bring all this stuff, the only thing we need is our fishing rod and bait."

"Yeah, you said that now. But if we're going to spend half a day out here, it is good to bring some food and water," said Joel, passing her one of the bags. "We also need sunblock, bug repellent, and this little back to put the fish we catch."

"Yeah, yeah… just past me, the other bag." as Joel up the bag toward her Ellie had to lean more down and Joel saw her bra through her t-shirt. He quickly turned his head to the side while Ellie grabbed the bag and put it on the top of the tree. "Okay pass me the other things," she said, lowering herself again.

Joel tried not to look at her, it wasn't appropriate for him to see her underwear. But he didn't tell her anything, so she did not feel embarrassed. After Ellie gets the things to the other side Joel climbs the fallen tree and jumps to the other side too. After he picked up all the bags and his rod, they continued walking the path.

A few minutes later they arrive at a broken wood fence and Joel watches how Ellie starts to cross through it. "Hey what are you doing?" he said as soon as he got close to the fence and noticed that it could belong to someone.

Ellie turns her head and looks at him. "I'm crossing the fence, what do you think?"

"You can't do that, this looks like it is someone's property, we can't go in there that will be trespassing." He said with a serious tone.

Ellie laughed a little. "No need to worry, this place has been abandoned for a long time. Nobody lives here anymore."

"Are you sure? Because I don't want to get in trouble or get shot."

Ellie rolled her eyes. "Seriously? You're worried about this after all the things you told me you did when you were a kid? C'mon, nobody even comes to this area. That is why this is one of my favorite places to go when I'm boring," Ellie smiled at him and turned around to continue walking. Joel shook his head, not sure about this, but he started to follow her.

After 10 minutes, they arrived at an abandoned cabin that was close to the lake. The cabin was a little messed up and half covered by trees and weeds. The structure seems to be solid, Joel can see that the painting is almost gone and some walls have holes in them. "Are you sure that no one lives here? Or come to check this place?"

"Yes, I'm sure. I've been coming here since I was 13 and it has been like that as much as I remember. I never see anyone come here or check this place. The old road that comes to this place is all covered now by the forest, you even can't see if you don't know it is there," Ellie walked to the entrance of the old cabin and started to take her backpack off. "We can leave our things inside," she said looking at him. "Don't worry I've been here lots of time, I even sleep in here a few times too."

Joel enters the cabin and walks toward her. He stopped as soon he got closer to her. "Why did you sleep in place? This does not look like a good place to be, especially alone. Well, that is if you come alone or with some friends."

"Joel, I already told you that I don't have any friends… until now. Besides nobody knows about this place. You're the first one that I bring here," Ellie put her backpack on the floor beside broken furniture. The place was almost empty, the few furniture in there we're all broken or damaged by water or for the time there. "C'mon the creek is on the other side of the cabin." Ellie grabbed her fishing rod and walked out of the place and ran fast to the other side.

Joel put his thing on the floor and grabbed his rod too and the small bag for the fish. "I hope that you're right about the fishing here, it's going to be a bad walk all the way here for nothing." He started but Ellie already was out and couldn't hear him.

Ellie gets to the small pier on the back of the cabin and waits for Joel. Soon he gets there and she moves into the small wooden bridge. "I can tell you that this is the best place to fish. As nobody comes here we will cash a few good ones." Ellie walked in the little pier until she got to the end, then she sat down and started to put the bait on the rod.

Joel walks behind her putting the little back on the floor behind Ellie. Then he sat down beside her. "Are you sure you know how to do this?"

"Dude, I been living here for the last 5 years. Of course, I know how to do this," she moved her rod around and threw it to the like. "Now watch and learn… I bet that you never go fishing in Texas."

Joel laughed at that. "Don't even think that Texas is all desert, we have a few lakes and rivers to Y'know."

"Well, what about a little competition? The one that catches the bigger fish... wins. And the loser will clean and cook them?"

"Are you sure you want to do this?" Joel asked with a smirk on his face.

"You bet I do… and I can sure you that you're going to lose mister," Ellie elbowed him on the side and smiled. Ellie moves the rod line out of the water and waits for him to finish his.

After he finishes with the preparation, both of them lunch the line into the water and waits. After a while, Joel notices how she was enjoying herself. He feels good to see her like that, it was like she never had this kind of fun before. And that makes him feel good too.

After a while, Joel stood up and walked back to the old cabin. When he came back he brought a few sandwiches and juice bottles with him, so they could have some lunch. After they eat Ellie takes out a little book from her back pocket and starts to look at the pages.

Joel looked at her with a curious expression. "What you have there?"

"Oh you're going to love this," she said holding the book on one page. "Light travels faster than sound. That's why some people appear bright until you hear them speak." She looks at him and giggles. "Did you like that… Oh is more."

Ellie starts to read from the little book. "I was wondering why the ball was getting bigger. Then it hit me."

"I have a few jokes about unemployed people, but none of them work" she starts laughing hard now. Joel looks at her, not getting the jokes.

After she stops laughing for a minute, she starts to read another on another page. "Last night, I dreamed I was swimming in an ocean of orange soda. But it was just a Fanta sea" She laughs again. "Did you… get… it. It was a... Fanta… sea…"

Joel smiles a little, but not at the joles, but how Ellie laughs at them. "Are those pun jokes?" Joel finally asked.

After Ellie stops again, she looks at him and answers. "Yep, the best there is," she moved closer to him and showed him the cover of the book that he read. 'The Best Pun joke of 2015' "Here there is another one."

"I lost my job at the bank on my very first day. A woman asked me to check her balance, so I pushed her over." She starts to laugh again.

Joel was looking at her, wondering if this was the first time she did this with someone. And after a few minutes, he starts to laugh at the last jokes too. They pass a few hours on that little pier, joking around and catching a few small fish. But in the end, Ellie wins the competition when she catches the bigger fish of the day. It was late afternoon when they decided to call the day and head back to Joel's house. So soon Joel and Ellie walk back into the old cabin. They pick up their things and start walking back.

They talk a little more on the way back. Ellie told him that she hadn't gone to that place to fish in more than a year. And that it was the first time that she brought someone with her.

She told him that she goes there a few times a month just to be alone or read a book. Joel was wondering why she likes to be alone all the time. Sure he likes that too, but he has his reason for that. But why does a girl her age like it that? She was young and full of energy so why does she prefer to pass her time alone. She likes to spend time with him now, even if he doesn't talk much about his past life. That was something he didn't understand, but if she felt happy with that, he is not going to deny that to her. Joel is not really sure why he wants to do that, but deep inside he is starting to like passing time with this girl. After one hour of walking, they finally arrived at Joel's house.

"Soooo... you're going to cook the fish now?" asked Ellie while Joel opened the back door of the house.

Joel looks at the sky for a moment. "Is getting late, so maybe it is better for you to get back home before it gets too dark," says Joel while entering the house. "I can take you if you want, it is not good for you to walk in the forest at this hour."

Ellie smiles on how Joel was getting too protective of her. So soon he was inside she followed him in. "Well, it's not going to be dark any time soon and I'm hungry. Besides you lose the bet, so I want my fried fish now." She says with a mocking tone.

Joel put the bags on the floor and the one with the fish on the kitchen counter. "That will take more than an hour. I bet your aunt is going to be asking where you were all day."

Ellie put her backpack on the couch in the living room, then walked toward the kitchen. "Nahhh, she told me yesterday, that she needs to stay out of town for a few days. So I will be alone at home all weekend," Ellie says while sitting on the stud in front of the counter.

Joel looked at her with a surprising impression. "Your aunt is going to leave you alone all weekend?"

"Yep… She does that sometimes. She said that it was because of her work. But I'm starting to think that she has been spending her time with some guy. I bet she is fuking him right now in a motel or something." She giggled at that.

Joel was surprised to hear her talking about her aunt like that. "Hey! watch you languish, young lady, that is no way to talk. And you should not be saying those things about your aunt are not right and you don't know if it is true."

Ellie roller her. "I don't know, maybe it's true. I asked her once if she was visiting someone out of town. And even if she didn't say she was, she did not deny it either."

"Well, I don't know your aunt, but it is not nice to talk about her like that," Joel looked away, trying not to get a discussion with her. So he grabs one of the fish and starts to get in clean.

Ellie watches Joel while he opens the fish and starts to get his guts out. "I don't like this part, it's so gross."

"Well, it's part of the cooking if you catch your own fish," says Joel putting the fish inside on the sink. You said you were fishing before, so what do you do when you cook it?"

"I don't, I put it in the fridge so my aunt can cook it later. She doesn't like to do that either, so sometimes she gives the fish to one of the neighbors. That is why I haven't been fishing for a while."

Joel starts to use a knife to take out the scale of the fish. "Well, that is too bad. Cooking your own fish is part of the fun," Soon the first fish was ready, Joel moved away and grabbed the other one. The big one that Ellie catches and starts to work on that one. "So you're going to stay alone in your house all weekend?"

Ellie was watching Joel while he put the other fish on the sink and cleaned it. She started to think of the wonderful day she has today. So after some thinking, an idea came to her mind. "Well, if you're so concerned about me being alone at home. Maybe I can stay here until she comes back."

Joel up his head and looked at her. "Are you kidding? You can't stay here."

"Why not? You said that it is not good for me to stay alone at home for a few days. So maybe I can stay here until my aunt comes back."

"I don't think that is going to be a good idea," says Joel while he was putting the fish in a pan.

"Oh, c'mon… I will be quiet and good... please… pretty please!" Ellie leaned forward and put her hand together and put a poppy sad face.

After a few pleading, Joel looks at her. "Ellie that is not right okay, I'm an old man living alone. It is not right for a 16-year-old girl to stay the night in a man's house. Sorry, but I can't let you stay here. Besides what your aunt is going to think if she finds out."

"Nothing, because she doesn't need to know. I can text her and tell her that I will stay at a friend's house… Please, just for tonight?" Ellie put a sad face again.

"Sorry but my answer is still no. Look I will cook the fish so that way you eat something before you go, but after that, I will take you home okay."

Ellie crossed her arm and looked away. "I can't believe you are going to let me sleep alone in my house. After all the things you said. I thought that you care about me, but I can see that you just are the same as the rest of the people here," Ellie stood up and went to the living room.

Joel stops what he is doing and walks toward her. "Look is not that I don't care about you. But you need to understand that if people find out you stay here for the night is going to look bad."

Ellie turns around and looks at him. "I don't care what people are going to think, because we're just friends and we're not doing anything wrong."

Joel doesn't like the idea of letting her sleep alone in her house, even if she said that it is okay. But letting her stay here is not going to be good for him either. "Look, Ellie... I know that we're not doing anything wrong, but people can talk and say things that are going to be bad for both of us. So let me finish the cooking and maybe we can talk about this okay?"

Ellie noodles and goes to sit on the couch. Joel goes back to the kitchen and after he cut some vegetables, he put them in a pot. Then he put the fish on the frying pan and start to cook them.

After that, he goes to the living room and starts the fire on the Cheyney. Ellie just stays there with a sad face. Soon the food was ready, both of them sat on the kitchen counter and ate food. They barely talked while they were eating. After the finish, some thunder started to sound outside.

"What the hell?" Joel stands up and walks toward one of the front windows. Soon he moved the curtains to the side, he saw the heavy rain that was starting to fall.

Ellie stood up and walked to the window and stopped beside him. "I guess I will stay for the night after all," she said with a smile on her face.

Joel closes the curtains and looks at her. "What are you talking about, is just a little water, I can take you back home in my truck." Soon he finished another load of thunder that can be heard outside scaring the shit out of him. "What the fu-?"

"Ohhh, c'mon Joel you're going to take me and let me there alone with this weather? Besides, I'm a little afraid of thunder, so please can I stay here with you? pleaseeee…"

Joel starts to think for a moment. He can see the pleading eyes on Ellie, and even though he thinks this is not a good idea, he can't let her sleep alone there with this rain. "Okay you can stay, but just for tonight… I will take you home in the morning, okay?"

"Yayyyy!" She moved closer to him and hugged him. "Thank you, Joel, you're the best. I promise not to bother you… much. You're not going to regret this I promise."

Joel doesn't know why but he has a bad feeling about this. I hope not. said Joel in his mind.


	7. Ellie's Sleepover

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After Ellie convinces Joel to let her stay in his house for the night. She is happy to spend more time together, but also need something to do to pass the time.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I do not own any character of (The Last of Us) TLOU is owned by Naughty Dog and their creators. 
> 
> A/N: This virus is affecting everyone around the world, and even that the government is trying to do the best to stop it this it will continue to affect us. So be careful out there and stay safe.

**Chapter 7: Ellie's Sleepover**

Joel still has doubts about letting Ellie sleepover, especially without her aunt knowing about it. But for now, he doesn't have too much of a choice. The rain looked bad and he didn't want to let her stay in her home all alone. Joel was looking through the window again hoping for the rain to stop, but it was getting worse. There was a lot of thunder and lightning and the rain was getting heavier. Ellie was in the kitchen sending a test here to her aunt after she called her and didn't get any response. Ellie also insists on washing the dishes, even when Joel told her that she doesn't have too.

After a few minutes, Ellie put her phone in her pocket and walked out of the kitchen. "Okay, all set," Said Ellie while walking back into the living room. "I can't reach her, so I sent her a message, telling her that I will stay in a friend's house tonight."

Joel moves away from the window and looks at her. "I don't like that you are lying to your aunt about this."

"I didn't lie! I told her that it was raining and that I will spend the night at a friend's house, so I didn't lie, because you and I are friends now… right?"

"That is not the point. Did she even know that you don't have any friends?"

"Well, she thinks that I have a few from school."

"So you have been lying to her all this time?"

Ellie moves slowly to the fireplace. "I don't want her to worry about me not having friends." Ellie stays looking at the fire while she continues. "Besides, I like it that way. Not the lying thing, but me having no friends… well, I didn't mind that until now," she turned her head and looked at him.

Joel walked toward the place he put his bags early and grabbed one of the bags and put it on a small table. "You should not be lying about that, Ellie. If you don't want to have any friends it is okay, but you should not be lying to your aunt. I don't know why you two are not close, but you should be able to talk to her about all this stuff."

"Yeah, I know… it is sometimes hard to talk to her about things." Ellie turned around and put her hand behind her back and started to move one of her feet around. "So what we do now. Do you have any games? Or you want to sit in front of the fireplace and tell each other stories?"

Joel put some of the things he took to the lake and put them on the table. "No, I don't have any games. But it is getting late and I'm tired, so maybe it is good if we just go to sleep…" Joel realizes what he said, so he quickly looks at Ellie. "I... mean get some rest… separately… no like… in the same-" Joel starts to get nervous and his face starting to turn red.

Ellie smiled at that. "Don't worry Joel, I know what you mean. But it's still early, can we do something before that?"

"I'm really tired Ellie, and I want to rest." he put the bag away and grabbed some of the things he put on the table.

"Fine… but I'm not tired, so what do I do? You don't even have any tv in the house."

"Sorry about that, but I didn't think I would be having a visitor here and I don't watch tv anymore. Anyway, how are we going to do this? As you know I only have one bathroom, so you want to use it? I can take the couch if you want," said Joel while starting to walk away.

"No, it is okay. This is your house, I will take the couch."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes, besides you're bigger than me so sleeping on the couch is going to be more difficult for you," said Ellie with a smile.

"You should not worry about that, I slept in worse places… before," Joel quickly noticed that he was starting to talk about his personal life again, so he quickly changed the subject. "Okay, then, I will get you a pillow and a blanket, so you can be more comfortable on the couch." Say Joel walking toward his bedroom.

"Are you sure you want to go to sleep now? It is not even 9:00 pm yet," Ellie said aloud, so Joel can hear her from inside his room. "Y'know, I saw a few movies, when people do all kinds of things during a sleepover."

"Well, as I said before, I'm tired and this is not a movie," Joel replied from his bedroom. "So as soon as I get you the things you need to sleep, you can do whatever you want. It has been a long day and I just want to go to bed, " Ellie rolled her eyes and started to look around. Ellie was happy to be able to help Joel out. She has been working on the house with Joel for a few weeks, and the house looks better now.

She remembers how it was the first time she entered the house. "Hey, Joel... do you have something that I can wear for sleep? I like to take a shower, before going to sleep and I don't have any clothes with me."

Joel came out from his room with a pillow and a sheet. "Here, you can use this," He gives her the things for her to sleep. "I think I have some old pajamas somewhere in my room that you can use."

"Thank you!" say Ellie moving toward the couch.

Joel goes back to his room and starts looking for the clothes. In the meantime, Ellie put the pillow and sheet on the couch and went to the bathroom. Soon she was there, Ellie opened the water, then she sat on the top of the toilet and started to take her shoes and socks off. Ellie stays sitting on the toilet while waiting for Joel to bring something to wear and for the water to get warm.

After a few minutes, Joel came to the bathroom with some clothes and a towel. "Here, you can use this. And don't take too long, I want to take a shower too, so don't use all the hot water," he said then turned around.

"Yes sir," Soon Joel walks out of the bathroom and closes the door Ellie starts to take her clothes off.

Joel walked to the kitchen and opened the fridge. He grabbed a beer but remembered that Ellie was in the house so he probably should not be doing that. But since she was in the bathroom, he can take advantage of that. So he took the beer and opened it. Man what a day he said in a lower voice the start to drink the beer. Yeah, he has been trying to stop drinking but it has been so hard to do it. He needs it to keep his mind off. Lucky for him Ellie has been a good distraction so he has not been drinking that much. After he finished the beer, he walked into the living room and looked out through the window again.

He saw that it was still raining hard, so probably is going to rain all night. It rained a few times before but not like this. While he was watching the rain, he remembers the patch he did on the roof so he was hoping that he does a good job on that and it will hold. Joel started to look at the ceiling but so far everything was good. After that Joel went to the fireplace and sat in a chair in front of it and waited for Ellie to come out of the bathroom.

20 minutes later Ellie walked out of the bathroom into the living room, where she saw Joel sitting in front of the fireplace. "The bathroom is all yours," says Ellie as soon she gets close to Joel.

He turned his head and looked at her. He started to check the pajamas he gave to her and see that even though the shirt was too long for her, the pants it served well this time. "Oh, I can see that the pajamas work on you this time," says Joel while standing up.

Ellie moved her clothes to her side and looked down. "Yeah, the pants fix me this time."

Joel walked close to her. "Okay, I will take my shower now then go to bed. The couch is ready, so if you need anything else just call me… okay?" he started to walk toward the bathroom but Ellie made him stop.

"Joel!..."

Joel turned his head and looked at her. "Yes?"

"Thank you,"

Joel gave him a smile. "You don't need to thank me for this. Is still raining, so I am not going to-"

"I don't mean only for that. Thanks for giving me the best day ever. I had a good time with you- I mean fishing, so thank you," Ellie walked toward him and hugged him. Joel didn't know what to do about that, so after a few minutes, he hugged her back.

"You don't need to thank me for that either. I'm glad that you have a wonderful time," After a few minutes, Joel moved her away from him a little and looked into her eyes. He starts to feel that sensation again. Like he feels something strange inside of him every time Ellie hugs him or be close to him and he doesn't know why. "Okay kiddo, get some sleep and I will see you tomorrow...okay?" with that he let go of her and turned around. Joel walks toward his room, then comes out a few minutes later with some sleeping clothes and walks to the bathroom. He left Ellie alone in the living room, hoping she goes to sleep soon.

Ellie watches him go into the bathroom after he goes to his room and grabs some clothes. Then she turns around and walks toward the kitchen counter where she put her backpack after they have dinner.

She opened and put the clothes that she was wearing inside. As she doesn't bring any extra clothes, Ellie wasn't wearing any underwear underneath Joel's PJ. She feels strange, not only to be wearing Joel clothes, even if she already uses one of his t-shirts before. But he also is sleeping in his house.

After she finished, Ellie grabbed the backpack and her shoes and walked back to the living room. Ellie put her backpack on the side of the couch and sat there. For a moment she looked at the bathroom door and tried not to imagine what Joel was doing. After a few minutes, she turned around on the couch and moved the curtain that was behind her. One of the front windows was behind the couch, so after she moved the curtain to the side, she started to look outside.

She loves when it rains, but not much when it comes to thunder and lightning. Ellie starts to think about how much fun she has with Joel today. She never has this kind of fun with anybody before, not even her aunt. Somehow she feels safe with him and that makes her feel good. Ellie doesn't know why she feels this way, but she never felt like this before. It's like she doesn't want the summer to end so that she can spend more time with him. Ellie closes her eyes and thinks about Joel.

Yeah, he is way older than me, but I don't care about that, he is my friend now… my only friend. And he doesn't even look that old… no to me. Also, I have to admit that he is really handsome. Then she thought about how they touch sometimes, and how she feels when he hugged her. Ohhhh, he feels so warm every time we touch, I never felt that before. And sometimes I don't even want to get away from him, it is like he makes me feel wanted and loved. Ellie was taken out of her thoughts when she heard a door starting to open. Ellie quickly moved down and lay on the couch. She grabbed the blanket and put it over her body and turned to the side. She closes her eyes and pretends to be sleeping when she starts to feel Joel walking toward her.

Joel walks toward the living room soon after he gets out of the bathroom. He saw that the curtain was open and that Ellie was already on the couch all covered up. So he walked slowly toward the window and closed the curtain. Joel doesn't know if she was already sleeping or if she was faking it. But he wasn't going to encourage her to get up and start talking again or start asking questions.. So soon he closes the curtain, he starts to walk away trying not to make any sound.

After he was a little away from the couch, Joel stopped and turned around. Joel looks at the couch and watches her cover figures, but she doesn't move so he thought that she was really sleeping. He stayed there for a minute, not knowing why this girl has so much impact on him. Yeah, he impressed so many girls when he was young and popular at school. But all that ends when his parents die and he has to take care of Tommy.

But he is older now and broken, so what does this girl seem like in him that wanted to be with him all the time? Joel makes one last look to the couch, before moving the switch on the wall and turning out the light. All the house was dark now, except for the living room, which was illuminated by the fireplace. Good night… Ellie, He said in a lower voice before leaving Ellie in the living room.

Soon Joel entered his room, he closed the door and sat on his bed. Joel started to think about how things have changed in his life for the last month. He came here to be alone and be away from his annoying brother, that only reminded him of what he lost. But this girl has been changing his life a lot. Joel is not sure if it is in a good way. After a few minutes, he lay on the bed trying to stop thinking about Ellie and get some sleep.

( A few hours later )

Ellie was looking at the ceiling trying to get some sleep. She has been trying since Joel got out of the bathroom, but between thinking about him and the thunder and lighting she can't sleep. It's been a few hours since Joel goes to his room, but Ellie does not find any sleep after that. She has been turning around on the couch, but somehow she can't sleep. Ellie doesn't know if it is because of the rain or just because she is in another house. The couch is not helping either, it is not so bad but is not her bed. This wasn't the first time that she slept out of her house. She did it a few times in that old cabin, but all those times it wasn't raining or was a man close by. The house was dark except for the living room that was still illuminated by the fire in the fireplace.

Ellie looked at the fire, then to the ceiling again and for some reason, she can't stop thinking of Joel. Any time she closed her eyes, she saw him standing in front of her or getting an image of the time they're working together. I don't understand why I think so much about him all the time. I never felt like this before with anyone, so why do I feel like this now? Joel seems to be like a good person, even if I don't know much about him. He told me a few things about his past when he was younger. Also that he has a brother, but not much after that. So why do I feel so warm every time I come here or see him? Ellie tried to push those thoughts out of her head but was almost impossible.

Ellie stays on the couch for a little while but nothing she does makes her fall asleep. So after a little time, Ellie decided to get out of the couch and go to the kitchen. Soon after she went there, she grabbed a glass and put some water on it. After she drinks the water and put the glass on the sink, Ellie looks toward the small corridor that leads to Joel's room.

Ellie looked at it for a few minutes. Why do I have the urge to go there and see what he is doing? Is he awake? Nahhh, he is probably sleeping and I can't go there and knock in his door to find out… or I can? Ellie started to walk slowly toward the corridor and tried not to make any sound. After she walked for a minute or two, she stopped in front of Joel's room. The corridor was really dark since the light from the fireplace didn't get in there. Ellie was looking at the door and started to imagine Joel in the bed. What the hell am I doing? She said to herself while grabbing the knob of the door and starting to move it slowly. Without thinking much, Ellie starts to open the door slowly and try to look inside. Not even knowing why she was doing that.

Right now Ellie's heart is beating faster, and a lot of things start to pass through her mind. She was nervous, and her hands started shaking. The door was almost half-open when she stopped and before she could take a good look inside, a thunder sound woke her up from her trance. Ellie realizes what she just did. Open the door of a man's room, to check him out. Ellie felt so embarrassed that she closed the door quickly and leaned on the wall beside it. She closed her eyes and started breathing faster. What the hell am I doing, he is only my friend, so why do I just want to spy on him when he is sleeping? Ellie walked back to the living room and sat on the couch. She lowers her head and puts her hand to cover her face. Fuck! What is wrong with me? She said in a lower voice.

( Later in the morning )

Joel opened his eyes as soon as the sunlight entered through the window. He felt so tired that he did not want to get out of bed yet. But soon he remembers that Ellie was sleeping in his house and he needs to take her home, he starts to get out of bed. Joel was sleeping in a t-shirt and boxes, so he needs to change before he goes out of his room. He normally goes out like that and changes after he has some breakfast, but as Ellie is in the house he can't do that today. He can believe that he let Ellie convince him to stay, even with the heavy rain he could take her home. But he doesn't want her to sleep there alone, even if that is not his problem, he is starting to care for the girl. Joel shook his head and walked toward the window in his room and moved the curtain to the side and looked outside. The rain seems to be a stop for a while now, but he can see all the mud and some pools of water all over in his backyard.

After a few minutes, Joel closes the curtain and walks to his drawer and starts looking for some clean clothes to change. He looked at the small clock on the top of the drawer and saw that it was almost 10:00 am. Shit! I was going to take her home early in the morning. I guess that I overslept. He said in a lower voice. After he changed, Joel walked toward the door of his room and got out. The bathroom was almost in front of his room, so he got inside to brush his teeth before he went to the living room and see if Ellie was up. He stays in the bathroom for 5 minutes until he finishes.

After that, he walked out of the bathroom and started walking towards the living room. "Hey kiddo, I am going to make some breakfast, so you want some before I take you home?" Say Joel as soon as he entered the living room. But he was surprised when he looked at the couch and it was empty. Did she wake up early? He thought before he started to call her. "Hey, kiddo… where are you?" he continued, calling her while walking toward the kitchen. But she wasn't there either. Where does she go?

After Joel checked inside the house and didn't find her there, he opened the front door and started calling her again, but she didn't respond either. So he goes back inside and goes to the back door to check if she was in the backyard. But before he gets there, he notices that her backpack wasn't there either. Did she already go home?

Why didn't she wait for me to take her there? Joel started to say to himself. I just hope that she doesn't get in any trouble for staying here all night. Joel felt a little worried about that, but it was nothing he could do about it. He felt a little sad that she had not even said goodbye before going out, but he knows that she will show at his house again very soon. So he walked to the kitchen again and started to make some breakfast. I want to know why this girl is having so much effect on me…


	8. Falling for him

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After Ellie get out of Joel's house and spend to much time with Joel, she is starting to notice that she is getting to close to Joel. It is that love?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I do not own any character of (The Last of Us) TLOU is owned by Naughty Dog and their creators.

**Chapter 8: Falling for him**

After Ellie leaves Joel's house, she goes back to her home. When she arrives she goes directly to her room and lays down on her bed. After getting a few hours of sleep, she wakes up and can't stop thinking about her day with Joel yesterday. So she moves to her drawer and grabs her diary and starts to write on it.

_Dear diary, yesterday was the best day of my life. I go to Joel's house- No is better if I do not mention his name just in case._ So Ellie erases his name from the page and continues. _I went to his house and after that, we went to my favorite place on the lake. It was so fun, and we caught a few fish. We make a bet and I win of course so he has to clean and cook the fish. I think he was going to do it anyway. Sometimes he tries to hide his feelings, but I know that he likes me… well, I am not sure in what way, but I will find out someday. He laughs a little at my puns jokes and that it was a surprise because he sometimes looks so sad. I wish to know what happened to him like that, but I'm glad that we are now good friends and that we're having some much fun together…_ Ellie stops for a moment. Her heart starts to beat faster now and she starts to feel some strange things on her stomach.

_Is that what we're? Friends? He never said the words or tried to deny it, but I know we're that now. I slept in his house last night and tried to go to his room. I don't know why I try to do that or why I am starting to get a strange feeling every time I get close to him? So what does that mean? Yeah, we're having some much fun now and I want that to continue. He is maybe a little older than me… well, a lot but I don't mind. He is a handsome man and kind when he wants to be. I like his bear and his eyes, even when they look so sad sometimes. I feel so happy when I pass time with him, and I never felt like that before. It is just like we were meant to be... I don't know what exactly happened to me but I do not want that feeling growing inside of me to go away, it feels so good._

_Anyway, summer is almost over, so I hope that all this doesn't end with it. Yeah, he lives just a_

_A half-hour from my house and I can still go there after school and or weekends._

_But it is not going to be the same. My aunt is coming back today so I don't know if it is better to not go there for a few days. Oh my God, I'm going to die if I don't see him in a few days. I hope that he is going to miss me too._ Ellie continues writing for half an hour until she hears the front door gets opened. She stopped her writing and hid the diary under her mattress and went out of her room to welcome her aunt.

( One week later )

It has been a week since Ellie slept in Joel's house. Joel was worried that something might happen to her because she never showed up later that day or the next few ones. Joel didn't have any way to contact her and he didn't want to go asking people about her or where she lives. He doesn't want people to start asking why he is looking for her. So he decided to leave it like that for now. So after a week, Joel drove to town to buy a phone, so that way he can talk with the hardware store man and offer his service as a handyman.

Of course, he goes to the electronic store first to get the phone. "No, I already told you that I need a landline phone. I don't like cell phones, so stop offering me one," said Joel with an angry tone.

The man put the one he had in hand on top of the counter. "Sorry sir, but that is all I have here. If you want a landline phone you need to call a phone company for that," The young man looked to the side, trying to avoid Joel glare. " Anyway, why want to use those? Everyone uses cell phones these days, it is more practical and you can do more things with them" said the man while turning around and starting to check a few things on the wall racks.

Joel rolled his eyes, he was starting to get irritated by the man. But as no one is going to sell him one, he didn't have any choice but buy one for now. "Okay fine I will buy a prepaid one. The ones that don't need a phone company or anything like that."

The man turned around and looked at him. "What, are you in some kind of trouble?"

Joel glared at the man, not liking his attitude. "No… so you can stop right there. Just give me the damn phone and make it a simple one, I don't want it to be too complicated, okay?"

The young man looked at Joel a little scared. "Su… Sure, I have a few simple ones that you can choose from," the man gets down and opens the counter lower part and starts checking the phone he has there. After a few minutes, he gets up and puts a few cell phones on the top of the counter. "I have those in different colors and models, you can choose whatever you like."

"Just give me the black one," says Joel after looking at all the phones he put there. He just wants to finish with this guy as soon as possible.

After Joel finishes with the phone, he goes out of the store and drives to the hardware store that was a few streets from there. So soon he parks his truck on the front, he gets out and walks inside. He picked up a few things he needed, then walked to the counter and started to talk with the owner. He asks him if he can let his information with him, in case someone asks.

"Oh, that is good sir. I'm glad that you decided to offer you services," said the man while he started to scan the items.

"Yeah, I used a lot of my saved money to fix the house, so I will need to do something to add some more to my account."

"Okay, I can tell people about your work, but you need to bring some pictures of your work, so people know what you can do. Do you have a card with your name and phone number? Also, do you have a license for that kind of work?"

"No I don't have any card, but I can give you my phone number," Joel took out his new phone and checked the number. Soon he got it, he asked the owner for a piece of paper and wrote his phone number on it. "Here, this is my phone number, so if you know someone that needs some repair you can tell them to call me. Also, I do have a license, but I think it expired."

The man grabs the paper and looks at the number. "No problem, I'm sure, that people here don't mind if it is just some repair. I know a few people that need some fixing on their house. So you will get some calls soon."

"Thanks, I really appreciated that," after that Joel grabbed his purchase and get out of the store. Joel has to do a few more things so after he finishes with his errant on the town, he drives back home.

When Joel got back home, he saw Ellie sitting on his porch stair. Joel was a little surprised to see her there since it was more than a week since the last time she was at his house. Soon he parked his truck in front of the house, he saw a smile on her face. She was wearing her red t-shirt with a yellow sun design with palms on the front and short blue jeans. She was wearing a baseball cap and her ponytails got out of the back of her cap. Soon he started to get out of his truck Ellie stood up and started to walk toward him.

"Hey!... I thought you're out of town. I have been waiting for you for two hours," said Ellie soon she gets closer to him.

"I have to do a few things in town, and I wasn't expecting any visitors," replied Joel while he grabbed one of the bags. "Are you okay? I was worried when I woke up and you were not there. I don't know if something happens to you. Said Joel, before he grabs the other bag.

Ellie put her hand on her back and looked down. "Yeah, I'm so sorry about that, but I need to go back home before my aunt comes back. I received a text message from my aunt so I have to get back home before she does." Ellie lied about the text message, but what more she can say? Yeah her aunt came that day but much later in the morning. But Ellie is not going to tell him the real reason for her departure.

Joel closes the truck door and looks at her. "Well, you should wake me up before you go, I could take you to your house. It wasn't right for you to walk all the way there after all that rain."

Ellie moves one leg marking a circle on the still wed ground. "Yeah, the ground was pretty messy, but I got back home without a problem," she said, up her head and looking at him. I wanted to come back during the week but my aunt needs to do a few things, so she needs me there. Anyway, do you need any help with that," she said pointing to the bags and using that to change the subject.

Joel starts to feel things while looking at her. Yeah, he was happy to see her after a week and in some way he misses too. He has been talking to her more, and even that he wasn't able to talk much about him, he really misses that. But he wasn't sure if that was a good thing to do for him. After a moment he passed one of the bags to Ellie. "Sure, you can take this one with the groceries."

Ellie grabbed the bag and started walking toward the house. Joel followed her and without notices, he started looking at her bare legs. _C'mon man, what are you doing? You should not be looking at her like that, that is not right._ He quickly turned his head and tried to look away from her. _What is wrong with you?_ He doesn't know why he did that, he isn't attracted to her like that. Even if he starts to like her company that doesn't mean that he likes her like that, she is just a girl.

Joel was taken out of his thoughts when Ellie stopped in front of the door and turned her head and spoke. "Can you pass me the key?" she asked with a smile on her face. Joel just stayed staring at her, like he is in some kind of trance or something. "Joel?"

Joel shook his head a little. "Oh, the key… right," he introduces his free hand in his pocket and takes the house key out. He walked toward her and passed the key. "Here."

Ellie takes the key and opens the door. Then she walked inside with Joel behind her. "So... what have you been doing all this time without me?" she asked while walking to the front of the kitchen and put a bag on the top of the counter.

Joel dropped the other bags on top of the small dining table that was behind her. Then he walked toward the kitchen and got inside. Ellie sat down on one of the stubs putting her arm on top of the counter and looked at him.

"Well, I've been keeping myself busy, since you have not been here too boring me to death, with all you talk and questions," he says trying to hide his smile by taking out the thing he buys from the grocery store.

Ellie knew that he was just joking around. "Well, I don't believe you, I know that you miss me… so just said!"

After a few minutes of Ellie begging him to say it, he finally gave in. "Okay...okay… I did miss you… but just a little."

Ellie gave him a big smile. "Ahhhhhh! Do you really miss me? That is so cute!" She teases him, but she misses him more. And right now she just wants to walk over there and hug him.

Joel moves the fridge and opens the door. "I didn't miss you that much, do not flatter yourself like that," he said while putting some of the food inside the fridge.

Ellie put her hand on both sides of her face and leaned forward. "I know that you miss me a lot, who is not going to miss a girl like me?"

Joel turned his head and looked at her and smiled. Yeah, he is not going to admit that he really misses her a lot and that he was really worried about her. She may be a little annoying with her questions and pun jokes. But he really misses her company and doesn't see her face every day. He walked back to the counter and grabbed a few more things from the bag and moved to one of the cabinets. "So, did you get in any trouble with your aunt?" He asked out of nowhere.

Ellie watches him while he put the thing on the cabinet. "No, I told her that I spent the night at a friend's house during the rain. She didn't ask me anything else after that, so everything is good."

Joel turns after finishing and looks at her. "Well, that is good to know. I thought that you would get grounded or something like that."

"No, I didn't'. It's just that I can't come before because she wants to do a few things and wants me to help her, so it was a busy week for me too," She lied again… well, at least part of it. Yes, she did have to do a few things with her aunt, like go to the store, clean the house and do the laundry, but that does not take the whole week. She only was trying to avoid coming here after that night, but in the end, she really missed coming here. "Soooo... What are you doing today? I can help you if you want?"

"Well, I have nothing to do today, the house is almost fixed, and I just need to make small tables for my room and finish the back porch. But I will leave that for later. So for now, it is nothing for you to do around here."

Ellie's expression change. If she does not have anything to do here to help him, she needs to find another excuse to come to his house. "Ahh, c'mon is always something to do in a house. But if you don't have anything to do for now, maybe we can do something else. How about going fishing again? or I can show you a few nice spots in the forest that you will like… what you think?"

Joel grabs the empty paper bag and drops it inside the trash. "I don't know if it is a good idea to walk into the forest like that," he starts to walk out of the kitchen and get inside of the living room.

Ellie turned around on her seat and looked at him. "Ahhh c'mon summer is almost over let's do something fun today."

Joel started to pass one hand behind his neck. Yeah, he misses the girl but he did not want to get in the forest alone with her. "Well, If you want to do something fun today, you can help me wash my truck today, it got very dirty because of the rain."

Ellie starts thinking. Wash Joel truck is not the fun she was looking for, but at least she can spend some time with him. "Well, it is not like going fishing or walking in the forest, but I can help you with that," she studs up from the chair and walks toward Joel. "When will we start mister?"

( Half an hour later )

Joel told Ellie where to find the cleaning things to wash the truck. While she does that, Joel goes to his bedroom and changes his clothes for an old t-shirt and shorts.

After that, he goes outside and moves the truck to the back of the house, so the water doesn't make a mess on the front part. Soon Ellie walks out of the house with the cleaning things, she put the bucket on the ground close to the truck and goes to grab the water hose to put some water on the bucket. While Ellie does that Joel gets out of the truck and moves close to her.

"Thanks for helping me with this. I know this is not what you wanted to do."

"Don't worry about it. Sometimes I do the same with my aunt's car," She smiled at him and grabbed one of the sponges that were on the bucket and started to clean the front of the truck. Joel grabs the other one and moves to the back and starts cleaning that part.

After Ellie finishes with the front part, she starts to spray water onto the truck and starts to take the sob out. "Wow, your truck was very dirty… where did you go with it? To the mud racer?"

Joel laughed a little. "No, I didn't drive far from here, but it was very muddy after the rain and I didn't have time to wash it during the week," replied Joel while he was fishing with the back of the truck.

"Yeah, I can see that you don't have time to take care of your car," Soon Ellie finished taking out all the soap from the front part. She moved away from the truck and walked to the back where Joel was on the back of the pick-up truck washing that part. Ellie smiled at him then spattered water toward him with the hose.

Soon Joel felt the water, he tried to cover himself, but it was too late. "Hey! What the hell are you doing?"

"Cleaning all the dirty things," she answers laughing.

"Ohhh… you want to play like that... hum!" Joel takes the sponge and throws at Ellie and hits her on her chest.

"Hey that is not fair!... that has soap on it," Then she opened the water hose again and spatter more water toward Joel. Joel tried to cover his face again, but the water hit the rest of his body wetting his clothes.

Joel stands up and looks at himself, then back at Ellie. "Ohhh… now you're going to get it, you little-" Joel jumped out of the back of the truck and quickly grabbed the bucket with soap and water. Soon Ellie saw him and she ran to the other side of the truck while spattering more water toward him. Joel started to chase her to the other side and soon he got close to her, he threw the water on the bucket toward her, but she moved to the side and the water didn't hit her.

"Ha, you miss me!" Ellie said while trying to move to the other side of the truck, but the hose got to his limit and held her back. "Shit!" said Ellie soon she turned around and saw Joel looking at her with a grin on his face.

Joel started to walk toward her slowly while he pointed at her with his finger. "What are you going to do now? There is no way for you to run with the hose in your hands."

Ellie tried to move back, but she couldn't without letting go of the hose. "Dude, I don't need to run away, I still have the hose with me. So if you get closer to me you're going to pay the price," she replied while pointing the hose at him.

Joel gives her a smirk. "Well, that does not matter anymore, because You already get me all wet, but you're not. So now is my turn," Joel moves faster toward her, and besides that Ellie sprays more water at him he doesn't stop.

Soon Ellie saw him getting closer; she dropped the hose and started to run to the other side of the truck to tried to get away from him. But it was in vain because soon she got to the front part, the ground was so wet that she slipped and fell into the mud.

Joel moved quickly toward her. "Are you okay?" he said as soon as he got close to her.

"No, I'm not! Look at me? Now all my clothes are muddy," she said while trying to get up from the mud puddle.

Joel worries disappear when he saw that she was okay. "Well, that is something I can fix," Joel starts to move closer to her and try to grab her.

Ellie saw what his intention was, so she tries to get away from him. "Ohh… no, no… you don't," Ellie grab some mud and throw it at him. Then she tried to get up and run away. But Joel was faster and grabbed her by the waist. He picked her up and put her on his shoulder and carried her to the back to the truck.

Of course, she was fighting back and trying to get away from him. "No, please... I don't want to get wet," Ellie was saying while Joel carrying her where she left the hosepipe on the ground.

Soon he gets there he put Ellie on the back of his truck. Then he grabs the hose from the ground and starts to spray water all over her. "Don't worry, I will make sure that I clean all the mud out of you," He said with a smile on his face.

Ellie quickly covers her face and starts to protest. "Ahhhh… you are going to pay for this… I promise," Ellie was saying while Joel continues spraying water at her.

A few minutes later, Joel closes the water flow and moved away from her. "Now, we're even," he says looking at her wet body.

Ellie looked at him crossing her arm. She tried to hide her smile because she supposes to be mad at him for getting her all wet. But somehow, she found all that funny and exciting. Somehow she feels good. She makes Joel play with her a little and even that both of them got wet it feels fine to her. She really misses him last week. Ellie doesn't know why she tries to stay away from him when all she wants is to be closer. Ellie started to feel that thing on her stomach again. But this time she didn't want to stop. Ellie is not sure why she has this feeling about him, but something inside is telling her that she has fallen for Joel.


	9. Games & Talks

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After they finish with the truck, Joel and Ellie get into the house to dry it up. After that, they play and talk.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I do not own any character of (The Last of Us) TLOU is owned by Naughty Dog and their creators.

**Chapter 9: Games & Talks **

They end up all wet, so after that, they decide to finish with the truck. After they finished, Joel put the cleaning things on the small shed and walked back to the house. Ellie followed Joel inside and stayed in the living room, while Joel walked into the kitchen and grabbed a beer from the fridge and walked back to the living room.

"Sorry for wetting you up, I forget that you didn't have any extra clothes to wear," says Joel, taking a big sip of his drink.

Ellie looked at him while he drank his beer. "Hey, it's a little cold in here. So why you don't bring another of those for me, I can get warm with that,"

Joel put his hand down and looked at her. He forgot not to drink in front of the girl. That is something she is stopping him to do every day. "Nice try kiddo, but you are still a minor… so no," he said while walking back to the kitchen. "But I can bring you a towel so you can dry out," he put the beer back in the fridge so he could drink water. And soon he walks out of the kitchen Ellie talks again.

"Ha, do you think that this will be my first time? I can assure you that I drank beers before." Said Ellie while putting her hand on her waist and looking at him.

"Is that so… well, you're not getting any from me that is for sure, but if you're cold I can start the fireplace," He was walking to that direction when he stopped again. "I will get you a tower first, so you can get dry and get warm in front of the fireplace."

Thanks, but I prefer to have a hot shower if that is okay with you. I still have some mud inside my pants," Ellie starts to walk toward the bathroom but stops before she gets there. "Do you have any clothes that I can use? I need to wash mine, and put them to dry."

Joel looked at her and started to think for a moment. It was past the afternoon and it was a sunny day, so making a fire is not going to be good. Letting the girl have a bath in his house wasn't a good idea either. But what else he can do. "Okay, I will look in my room and see what I can find for you. A t-shirt won't be a problem, but I don't think that any of my pants are going to fix you."

"I can use the one you lent me last time, that will work," she replied with a smile on her face.

Joel walked toward Ellie and stopped beside her. "You know that those were for sleep right? I don't think they are good for walking around in the presence of a man."

"Well, you should think about that before getting me all wet," She gave him a little punch on his arm and walked toward the bathroom.

Joel watched her while she entered the bathroom and closed the door. "You started, you know."

"Yeah, and that was a little fun by the way…" she replied from inside the bathroom.

Joel shook his head and started to walk toward his bedroom. _Kids!_ Soon he gets inside his room, he looks for the clothes he lent to her before. Soon he found it, he started to think about that day. _Why did she go that morning without telling me? I know that she didn't like to be treated like a kid, but she still is... is she?. Well being 16 makes her a teenager, not a kid, but that still makes her minor. But I don't know why I'm so happy that she came back. I came here to be left alone, but somehow this girl is changing that. I know she feels lonely, but why does she want to spend so much time with an old man like me?_ Joel was taken out of his thoughts when he hears the water running inside the bathroom.

So Joel grabs the clothes and walks out of the room. He stops in front of the bathroom door and knocks. "Hey, are you in the shower? I have a towel and some clean clothes that you can use."

After a few moments, Ellie answered him. "Yeah, I'm inside the shower, so you can enter and put them on top of the toilet, so I can grab them when I finish."

Joel waited for a moment before answering her back. "I think it is better if I left them on the door… is not right for a man to enter a bathroom... when a girl… is taking a shower," he said a little nervously.

"Is okay Joel, I'm inside the bath tube, I don't think you can see anything. If that worries you," Ellie giggled a little, when she tried to imagine Joel inside the bathroom with her.

Joel takes a deep breath and slowly starts to open the door. He was lucky that the steam that is produced by the hot water made it difficult to see inside the bathtub. Soon he was inside he could hear Ellie mumbling something inside the shower. He tried not to look that way and slowly moved toward the toilet and put the clothes and towel there. Soon he got closer to the toilet, he saw Ellie's clothes on the floor including her panties and bra. He quickly put the thing on the top of the toilet and started to walk away. But before he gets out of the bathroom, Ellie moves the curtain a little and shows her face.

"Thanks, Joel. Do you have any detergent? I need some to wash my clothes." She asked, looking at him.

Joel grabbed the doorknob and tried not to turn around. "I think I have some under the sink," he said while walking out of the bathroom and closing the door. Ellie giggled and went back to finish her shower.

( one hour later )

While Ellie took her bath, Joel went to his room and changed his wet clothes. After that, he went back to the kitchen to prepare some sandwiches when Ellie came walking into the living room.

She was drying her hair with the towel and wearing the clothes that Joel gave her. The long t-shirt was covering the sleeping shorts, so only her lower legs were showing. "Ahh that feels so good," she said while sitting on the chair that was in front of the counter. Joel was warming the bread on the stove, with his back at her. "So… what is for lunch?" she asked.

"I just made some jam and cheese sandwiches. Did you put your clothes to dry?" Asked Joel.

"I put them outside since you don't have any washing machine or a dryer one. I hope the sun does the job before I need to get back home." Ellie finishes drying her hair and put the towel on the other chair.

Joel put the sandwich on a plate and turned around. "Yeah, I don't have any. I always take my clothes to the dry cleaner," He looks at her with surprised eyes. She was with her hair all messed up, be it was the first time he saw her with her hair loose. Every time she came to his house she had her hair tied in a ponytail or wearing a cap. "Here you go... Do you want some juice with that?"

"Yes please," Ellie took the sandwich from the plate and took a bite. "Mmmm… this is so delicious… and I am so hungry."

"Is just a sandwich, but I'm glad you like," Joel walked to the fridge and grabbed a carton of juice and brought it to the counter. He grabs two glasses and put some juice on them. He passes on to Ellie. "Your aunt is at home today?" he asked while drinking his juice.

Ellie raised her head and looked at him. She was surprised at why he was asking her for her aunt? "Nope… I think she went out to see her boyfriend…" She takes another bite of her sandwich, then continues. "Well, she didn't say that exactly, but I know she did," she put the sandwich down and grabbed the glass with juice and drink. Then she grabbed the plate with the half eating sandwich and stood up. Ellie walked into the living room and sat on the chair that was in front of the fireplace.

Joel takes another sip of his drink and starts walking out of the kitchen. "So she went out and left you alone again?"

Ellie grabs her sandwich and takes another bite. "Yeah, but I don't mind that. She can go whatever she wants, so that way I can do whatever I want without her asking me questions about where I was or what I was doing."

Joel sat on the couch in front of her. "I still think that it is not good for her to let you be alone all the time. You still a teenager and-"

Ellie turned her head and looked at Joel. "I already told you so many times that I am not a kid anymore. I can take care of myself, so stop treating me like one."

Ellie turned her head so that way she didn't need to look at his face. She likes him and she wants him to like her, but not in the way he treats her now. Joel is maybe older than her, but she wants to be close to him. She is starting to get some feeling inside every time she comes here, and it feels good. Ellie looked back at him. "I like to come here because you're different and I love that. Yeah, you were a jerk at first, but now we're friends… and I like that too. I know that you don't like to talk much about you, but I hope that you change your mind with time."

Joel put his sandwich to the side and leaned forward, he took his glass with both hands and looked at it. He has been trying to figure out this girl, but any time she surprised him. Yeah, she is just 16 but she always talks like she is an adult. He is getting used to her company and to hear her stories and jokes. But can they be real friends? He needs to be a little sincere with her, so that way she doesn't get disappointed. "Look… There are a lot of things that you don't know about me. I don't was a good person… shit, I don't even think I am one now. So I don't know if... is good for you for us to be friends." said Joel without looking at her.

Ellie was surprised to hear him talking like that. Yeah, she doesn't know much about him, but she doesn't think that he is a bad person. "What do you mean by that?"

He looked at her for a moment, the lower his head. "I mean us to be friends? I'm 40 years old and you're just a teenage girl. I am not good with people, and I don't know if this is good for you. Besides what people are going to say when they find out your friend is an old man. Especially one like me."

Ellie put the last part of her sandwich on the floor and stood up. She walked to the couch and sat beside him. "You are not serious, right?" She moved her arms and put it on top of his. Then she leaned against him. "Being your friend is the best thing that happened to me in a long time. Coming here every day makes me happy and safe, so don't tell me that we can't be friends. And I don't even care what people will say if they find out."

Joel turned his head and looked at her head that was now on his shoulder. He was just wondering how this girl was getting too close to him. He doesn't know why she wants to be his friend that much, and he doesn't want to be the one to break her heart. Having this girl in his life is changing him and he hasn't been able to do that in a long time. But he needs to think about this because Ellie is only 16 and he knows that this is not right to let her get too close to him. "I know that you don't have any friends, but you can change that. You're a beautiful girl, smart and funny. I bet that if you give it a try, you can make a lot of friends at school."

Ellie moved away from him a little and looked at his face. "Ahhhh! Do you think I'm beautiful?" She smiled and moved closer to him again. "Thank you, Joel, that means a lot to me. No one has ever told me that before."

Joel looked away but didn't push her away. _What the hell did I do? I supposed to push her away,_

_not make things worse. Now what he is supposed to do?_

They stay on the couch for a while. Ellie was almost hugging him, and Joel didn't know what to do. So after a few minutes, he spoke again. "Anyway… now that the summer school vacation is almost over, we are not going to see each other that much. You're going back to school and I will probably start to do some work around here… so maybe-"

Ellie moved one hand and put her finger on his mouth. "Don't even say anything like that again. Of course, we're going to see each other after the summer ends. I can still come after school to visit you and on the weekends too. I can still come to help you with whatever you need."

Joel grabbed her hand and moved it away. "Ellie, you don't need to come here every day. You need to study and help your aunt with things in the house and all that."

Ellie did not even listen to what Joel was saying anymore. She grabs one of his hands and gets close to him. Now, Ellie was feeling some kind of electricity passing from her hand through her entire body. She was feeling butterflies inside her stomach, something that she was feeling since she met Joel. After a few minutes, Joel realized that she was holding his hand again. So he moved away from her. Ellie looked at him soon the sensation stopped. So Ellie stood up from the couch and stood in front of him. "Look, I don't want to talk about all that anymore. Is it going to take time for my clothes to dry, so why we do not do something while I wait?"

Joel looked at her, then he noticed that she wasn't wearing any bras. So he turns his head away and tries to control himself and not look at her like that. "And do what? I already told you that I don't have any games or tv."

Ellie put her hand on her waist and started to look around. Then she remembers that she has a set of UNO cards on her backpack. "Okay, I think that I have a set of cards on my backpack. So maybe we can play with it."

Joel thinks for a moment. "What kind of carts do you have?."

Ellie stood up and went to where her backpack was. While she was gone Joel finished his sandwich and juice. Right now he prefers a beer, but it was better to leave that to when Ellie is not around.

A few minutes later Ellie came back with a deck of cards in her hand. "Here, I use these to play sometimes, but it is better if you play with another person," Ellie passed the cart deck to Joel, so he can see them. Is it called ONE, did you play with this card before?"

Joel looked at the cards but didn't recognize it. I don't remember playing with this kind of card before. I used to play cards sometimes with my brother but not like these ones. I prefer to play blackjack or poker." Say Joel passing the card back to Ellie.

Ellie takes them back. "Okay, since you don't know how to play, I will teach you."

Joel watched Ellie walking to the front of the fireplace and sat on the floor. "C'mon I will teach you the rules and explain how this game is played."

Joel rolls his eyes and stands up. He can't believe that he is going to play a silly game with this girl. But they need to give Ellie's clothes to dry and they can go outside to do something else. So he decided to please the girl. Joel walked to the fireplace and sat on the floor in front of Ellie.

Ellie smiles at him and starts to move the cards on her hand. "Okay, I will tell you the rules and the meaning of any card. Then I will teach you how to play… okay?"

Joel stays looking at her while she starts to explain the meaning of the game. He tried to remember the last time he sat to play cards with a girl before. But he didn't remember any. Yes, he has some girlfriends in school, but they do other things. Think that he did not want to remember right now.

( Two hours later )

Both Ellie and Joel were still sitting on the floor in front of the fireplace. Ellie was checking her cards and waiting for Joel to make his move. "Okay dude, is your turn… so what are you waiting for?" said Ellie with a smile on her face.

Joel looked at her, not happy with the game. She already is winning… again. "I don't think I understand this game. Besides, I think you're cheating," says Joel looking at his cards.

Ellie rolls her eyes and looks at him. "Ohhh… C'mon, I already explained to you like 10 times. Besides, I don't need to cheat. It is not my fault that you're not good at this."

"I still think you're," Joel grabbed one card and put it on top of the deck. Maybe I can teach you how to play poker, and see who is the best at that."

Ellie looked at him and smiled. "Okay, you poor loser. Let's finish this one and you can teach me how to play poker okay?" Ellie saw the smile on Joel's face and continued with the game. She loved when Joel smiled because it is very rare in him. They continue playing the game for a little time even with Joel protests. And of course, Ellie wins in the end, and that makes her really happy. Not only for winning, but also to be able to pass more time with Joel.

After they finish the game, Joel starts to teach Ellie how to play poker. It was difficult to explain how the game was played at first. But after a few hours, Ellie started to understand the game.

"Okay I will raise you five token," said Joel, putting the token on the top of the pile between them. They used some plastic bottle caps that Joel found on a jar in the kitchen a few days ago. Now they're using them as money for the game.

Ellie looks at her cards, then back to Joel. "I don't have any more tokens to raise your to bet. So what should I do now?"

"Well, if you don't have a way to raise my bet, then I win." Joe put his cards on the floor and smiled at her. Yeah, he lost all the UNO games with her, but he knows this game better.

"What!... That is not fair. You don't know what I got, so how do you win?" said Ellie with a frustrated tone.

"As I explained to you before, you need to raise my bet to see my cards. So if you don't have more tokens to bet, I don't need to show you my cards to win. It's like you're forfeit the game."

"That is all fuking bullshit… this game sucks," she said, throwing her card to the floor.

"Hey… watch the languish, kid. I know that this is an adult game, but you don't need to get mad okay. I just thought that it would be a little fun if you know how to play. But maybe you like to play a kid game."

Ellie smiles in despair and soon she hears calling her kid again. "I am not a kid Joel, how many times do I have to tell you that," Ellie stood up and crossed her arm, then she turned around.

Joel stood up too and walked toward her. This was a nice day and he didn't want to ruin it by making the girl upset. "Sorry, I don't mean to upset you, it is just a game don't worry about it."

"Is not that Joel, I just don't like to be treated like a little kid. That is why I don't have any friends. I thought you're different, but are you going to treat me like… a kid too… then..."

Joel noticed that she was going to cry, so he needed to cheer her up. "Okay, tell you what. We are going to see each other's cards now and if you win. We do whatever you like to do this weekend, what did you say?"

Ellie turned around with a smile on her face. She was very close to him now like her body almost was touching his. Her heart started to beat faster and the sensation of kissing him right there was getting high. She doesn't know why she wants to do that suddenly. But she does not want to ruin the day, so she will figure that out later. So after a few moments of staring at him, she spoke again. "Really! Did you mean that… we can do whatever I want?"

Joel moved away from her and smiled. "Well, it is something rational, then yes."

"Okay deal! Let's see your cards?"

Both of them moved where they were sitting before and grabbed their cards. Joel was going to show her his cards but stopped. "Okay, but if I win, you will clean the nesting fish we catch the next time we go fishing."

Ellie smiled even more. "Ahhhh… you will be disappointed about that because I not going to lose."


	10. Swimming at the Lake

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After time past, Ellie and Joel are getting closer and after they pass the day together in Joel's house. Joel has to deal with the consequences of the card game.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I do not own any character of (The Last of Us) TLOU is owned by Naughty Dog and their creators.
> 
> A/N: Again thanks to the people that are reading this story, especially Cakepop96 and Blackhalk1 for putting a comment in every chapter of this story. I hope that everyone are safe, and away from this virus situation. have all a wonderful day and take care of yourself.

**Chapter 10: Swimming at the Lake**

"I can't believe that you win," says Joel while walking through the forest. "I know that you cheated. Is no way that you have those cards."

"Really… How I can cheat if you were the expert on that game. So stop whining, I win in a fairway. Besides this is not so bad, I could make you do something worse." Said Ellie while continuing following the trail that takes her to her favorite place.

"Yeah, I bet you cold…" Joel continued walking behind the girl. He can't believe that she won the bet. "I know that you win, but we should not do this today. I hear on the truck radio that it is going to rain all weekend."

Soon Ellie hears Joel, she looks up to the sky to check if that was true. "Really… Did they say that? Because I don't see any rain clouds up there. It looks like a beautiful sunny day to me," They continue walking and after they pass the big fallen tree Ellie stops and turns around. Ellie looks at Joel with a confused expression. "Why didn't you tell me that you have a phone?" she asked out of nowhere.

Joel stopped and looked at her with a surprised expression. "What? Who told you that I have a phone?" he asked, trying to be clueless.

"Miss Margaret. She lives a few miles from us. I did an errand for her yesterday and she told me that ``If my aunt needs a handyman, the man from the hardware store has a number of the new man in town that does that kind of work." Ellie put her hand on her wait and put a mad expression. "So, when you're going to tell me...? You know that I asked for your phone number and you said that you don't have any. So why did you lie to me?"

Joel looks at her, asking himself why she is mad about that. "I didn't lie. When I told you that I don't have a phone I didn't. But as you suggested I buy one because I will need it if I will do some work around here." Joel doesn't know what else to tell her. He just forgot about that.

Ellie lowers her hand. Yes, she suggests he buy one if he was going to do some work."You should tell me. It is easier for me to go to your house if I know that you will be there by calling you."

"Yeah… sorry about that. I just don't want to give it everyone... because… I don't want people calling all the time... and… and… why are we talking about this now?… Let's get to the lake before it starts to rain," Joel grabs his bag and continues walking in the direction of the cabin passing beside Ellie.

Ellie turns around and follows him. "I'm not every person. Besides is not true, I will not be calling you all the time… just… just… when I need to." She was now walking beside him.

Joel turned his head and looked at her. "Do you believe that?"

"Sure… besides, that is not the point. I am your friend. And friends share the phone number... Anyway, now that you have one. I can give you mine… and you give me yours. So that way I can call you and see if you're home or not. You can call me anytime you want and if you need me for something you can call me too." Ellie was so excited now. Knowing that Joel has a phone now it was great for her...

"Just let's get to the lake and we can talk about this later okay." They continue walking for 15 minutes until they arrive at the abandoned cabin. "Ahhh, finally this kind of work is going to kill me." He said dropping his bag and the cooler on the floor.

"What are you talking about? I saw you working and you're in good shape." Ellie started to think about the time Joel told her not to come to the house and she did it anyway. She stayed hiding behind a tree, why she observed Joel cutting some wood. She took some pictures of him that day, he was shirtless and Ellie was surprised by his body. She felt like a stoker... but it was worth it. He was at a good distance, so she couldn't see much of him. So even if Joel doesn't need her in the house, she goes anyway.

Joel looked at her and didn't say anything. He didn't really want to know why she just said that he was in great shape. "Anyway, what do you want to do first? If you're hungry, we can eat something."

"Nah… let's put our things inside the cabin and get ready to swim." Joel grabbed the things and started to walk toward the old cabin. Soon they entered, Joel put the bag and cooler down in the middle of the cabin.

Ellie took her backpack off and opened it. She starts looking for her swimsuit until she finds it.

"Okay, I will go to the bathroom and change. You can do it here if you want or wait until I finish." She just stayed there waiting for Joel to say something. "Joel!"

"Hmm…?" Joel was a little distracted. He now that Ellie won the bet, but agreed to this? He is not sure about that.

"What are you going to do?" she asked.

"Oh right… don't worry, I will wait until you finish," said Joel taking out a few things from his bag.

"Okay, I'm not going to get long in there. "Ellie grabbed her swimsuit and walked away. She stops at the entrance of the bathroom that doesn't have any door. She turned around and looked at him. "I will be changed inside, so no piking!" She smiled at him while her face started to turn red.

Joel looked in her direction. "Don't worry I will stay here unpacking a few things," said Joel putting the food they bring and other things on an old table that is still in the living room.

Ellie entered the room and put her swimsuit on top of a wooden box that she put in there when she found the cabin. The bathroom has nothing in it. The toilet and the sink were gone and what it was left of the bathtub, was all rusty and broken. Lucky for her the glass window was still intact and it provided light to the room during the day.

The place has a lot of garbage and broken things when she found it. But with time, she took a lot of that stuff and took it out, so that way the place can be a little more liveable. Ellie comes here planting time, even using the bedroom that was in better condition to pass the night. That room was empty too, she had to get rid of the bed and a few other things there. The cabin only has a few things on it. Things that she could save that were not broken or too damaged.

After a minute there Ellie looked at the door frame expecting Joel to show up, but after he didn't, she started to take her clothes off. Ellie grabs the bottom of her t-shirt and takes it off. She put it on the top of the wooden box that she uses for a table. Then she unbuttoned her shorts and moved them down her knees and took them off too. After that she was in her underwear, so she turned and looked at the frame door again to make sure Joel wasn't there. Even though she didn't want anyone to see her like that, she felt a little disappointed that Joel didn't try anything.

After that, she proceeds to take out the rest of her clothes. She takes out her bra and her panties. And now that she was completely nake in there, her face turned red just by thinking about Joel in the other room. This is not the first time she has had those kinds of thoughts. And after she realized that she likes him, she has a few dreams about him. Ellie wasn't sure if she had a wet dream while thinking about him was wrong. But that was something new for her and she can't help herself sometimes. Ellie walks toward the door frame while still naked and takes a pic to the living room. She saw Joel's back while he was checking one of the bags. She thought about getting out of the room and calling his name, so he turned around and saw her naked. But probably that is not going to be a good idea. So after shaking those thoughts out of her mind she moves her head inside and walks toward the wooden box.

After she put the two pieces of her swimsuit on, she took out her ponytail and let her hair loose. After she finished, Ellie walked out of the bathroom and walked toward Joel. "Okay I finish, you can go there and change too."

Soon Joel hear her voice, he turned around and he almost choked himself when he saw what she was wearing. Yeah, they come here to swim, but he wasn't expecting Ellie wearing a bikini. _Holy... shit!_ "Ellie, why are you wearing that?"

Ellie looks down and watches herself. "What?" then back to him.

Joel tried not to look directly at her. "That!" he said, pointing at her. "That is not an appropriate swimsuit for a girl..." Ellie was wearing a light blue bikini that almost covered her parts. Joel does not want to admit it, but her body looks all grown upon that bikini. Her breasts were not big, but she wasn't flat earther, they're just perfect sides. And the bikini shows more of her curve. Joel doesn't want to look at her as a woman, but he can't help it.

"Why can't I use this…? you don't like it?" Ellie starts asking why she doesn't understand Joel's reaction. "I bought it two months ago, I just don't have the time to use it." _Or the motive to use it_ Ellie turned to her side and grabbed her right arm and lowered her head. "I thought you would like it, I have never worn anything like this before… and I thought that you would think that it looked pretty on me," She said in a lower voice.

Now Joel feels bad for saying that. Of course, he thinks she looks great in that bikini, but he is not going to admit that. He doesn't think that it is appropriate for a 16-year-old girl wearing that in front of an old man like him. But he wants the girl to feel happy, and as this is going to be the last weekend of her summer vacation he doesn't want to ruin it. So Joel walked at her and grabbed her by the arm, making Ellie look at him. "Ellie, I didn't say that it looks bad on you, on the contrary, you look beautiful on it."

Joel can see now how Ellie put a smile on her face. "Do you really think that I look… beautiful?"

Joel smiled as well. "Yes, I think that you're a beautiful girl and smart. So not let other people make you feel otherwise."

A tear goes down Ellie's cheek, as she moves close to Joel and hugs him. "Thank you, Joel… that means a lot to me"

Joel doesn't know what to do. Ellie was hugging him tightly, he could feel her entire body on him. It feels like she was just naked. But he didn't want her to feel bad so he tried to bury all those strange feelings he is having right now very deep. So after a few moments, he hugged her back. He felt weird touching her naked back and long hair. This is the second time he saw her like that, because she always is with her ponytail, so it was strange to see her with her hair loose. "No need to thank me, I just tell the truth."

Ellie put her head on his chest and closed her eyes. She can hear how his heart was beating faster. She did not want this to end, feeling him so close was good, to bad that he was still wearing his clothes. Ellie knows that she is not supposed to think like that about him, but she can't help it. She never felt anything like this before and didn't want to end. But now she needs to get back to reality. So after a few minutes, she let go of him and move away. "I think you need to change your clothes if you are going to go swimming with me. Did you bring a swimsuit too?" she asked while looking at him.

Joel was a little glad that she moved away because it was starting to affect him. "No, I was just going to use a t-shirt and shorts."

Ellie looks a little disappointed by the news, but who knows maybe she can still see him chestless before the day ends. "Ok, I will go to the dock and wait for you there." Ellie smiled at him and ran out of the old cabin.

Joel shook his head while watching her go. "Shit, I need to control myself. I can't have thought about her like that, she is just a kid," Joel can feel, how he almost gets hard. He was hoping that Ellie didn't feel it when they were hugging. So after what just happened, Joel goes to grab the clothes that he is going to use and walk to the bathroom that Ellie used to change.

Soon he got inside, he saw Ellie clothes on the top of a wooden box there. He moves closer and looks at them. On top of her clothes were her underwear, panties, and bra. He quickly turned around and tried not to think of them. So after he gets his mind in place Joel starts to take his clothes off and put on the one he is going to use to swim. After he finished he went back where he put his bags and grabbed two towels and walked out of the cabin. He walked toward Ellie when he saw her at the shore of the lake. She was kneeling, playing with the water with one hand. Her back was toward him, so when he got closer he saw all her butt as the bikini only covered her middle part.

He went to the beach a few times before he got married. But after that, he never got to the beach with his wife or with someone else after he got divorced. He tried not to look at her, but it was difficult not to. She was so beautiful and had a great body and sometimes it was difficult not to think of that. So he has to say to himself that she is just a kid and that it wasn't right to think about her like that. But after spending too much time with her the temptation was still there. He was taken out of his thoughts when he saw Ellie turning her head around and looked at him with a smile on her face.

"Hey it was about time, I thought you were going to be in there all day." She said while standing up and facing him. He just looked at her and hoped that she didn't notice that he was staring at her butt for a moment there. He never acted like this before. So now he just feels like a pedophile man that just likes kids.

"Yeah, sorry to make you wait… I bring the towels… thought." he said a little nervously.

Ellie just smiled at him. She knew that he was looking at her, but didn't say anything. "Yeah, I can see that.. thanks."

"Are we going in now? Or you want to go to the little dock and sit there for a while?"

"Oh we are definitely going in but not here, the water doesn't look very clean today." She moves closer to him and grabs one of the towels. But I know another part of the lake that is always clean."

Joel looked at the cabin and then back to her. "I don't think it is a good idea to move to another place. It is better to stay close to the cabin in case we need to-" He stops when Ellie grabs his arm and pulls him toward the cabin.

"Ahh, don't worry, it is not far from here, just like 5 minutes walking. But the trail is rocky so it is better to go and put our shoes on and take a couple of bottles of water."

Joel does not want to leave their things there alone, even if Ellie told him several times that no one comes to this place. But he doesn't know how it is so easy for her to convince him to do things. So they got back inside the cabin and grabbed a few things and put their shoes on and went out.

He followed Ellie through another path that was taking them a little up a hill in the forest. Ellie put her t-shirt on before they went out of the cabin. Also, she was carrying one bag and her towel on the shoulder. "You said it was only five minutes and we're been walking for more than ten." Said Joel while walking behind her.

"Don't worry about that now, we're close," after they passed some trees, Joel and Ellie entered a rocky part of the forest. "We're here," says Ellie running to the edge of the small cliff. Joel follows her and stops beside her. "Is this beautiful or what?" she said, grabbing his arm and leaning on him.

Joel started to look at the view. He can see half of the lake from there and the wood on the other side. He also can see the mountain at a distance. She was right, this cliff has a great view. After a few minutes, he looks down and watches the water below. "I thought you said that this was a good spot to swim?"

"It is," she moved away from him and took her shoes off and t-shirt and threw them down to the ground.

Joel looked at her surprised. "Ellie, what are you doing?"

"What do you think… jumping," then she ran to the edge screaming and jumped off the cliff and toward the water below. " Wohoooo!"

Joel moved to the edge and saw her get into the water with a big splash. He was worried after watching her jump and not surface yet. Joel was going to jump after her, but he stopped after he saw her surface again and shook her head. "Are you crazy? This must have at least 15 feet, you could get hurt by jumping like that. " Joel yelled at her with a worried tone.

"Relax Joel, it is not too high and I have done this before, so you don't need to worry." She yelled at him from below. Ellie started to swim away from the cliff rocks and after she was a little far she spoke again. "Are you going to jump? Or you're too old for this?'"

Joel looked down and watched her swimming on the water again. He hasn't done this since he was a kid. When Tommy and he go on a field trip with their dad to a river in the mountain. That was a few years before their dad died. Joel hears Ellie teasing him and calling him a little baby or an old man. Maybe she was right and he was too old to do this. But he didn't come all the way here to sit down and watch her. He was glad to see Ellie so happy about it all this, so he is going to enjoy this too. So Joel moved away from the edge and started to take his shoes off and his t-shirt. Then he walked to the edge of the cliff again and looked down. "Are you sure that it is safe to do this?"

"Oh… c'mon just jump already. The water felt great," Ellie saw how he smiled at her, then moving away from the cliff. Ellie was a little disappointed because she thought that he changed his mind and wanted to go back to the cabin. But a few minutes later, she hears him scream and jump down the cliff into the water.

Joel hit the water with a big splash and a minute later he surfaces up shaking his head. "Shit, that was intense."

Ellie swims closer to him and smiles. "Man I almost thought that I would need to go back up there and push you off the cliff myself."

"Yeah, I bet you would… but now that I'm here… you deserve this." he splashed some water at her face.

Ellie turned her head trying to get less water on it. "Ohhh.. you on." She moves her hand and starts to do the same and start a water fight.

They swim and play on the lake for a while. They also jump off the cliff a few more times, before they get tired. Joel was surprised that they enjoyed this day so much. He felt like he was a teenager again. When all were simple and he was happy and not feeling any pain or being miserable. It was good to feel like this again. This girl was so special, she opened his heart and made him feel young and happy again.

A few hours later they get tired. So they get back to the cliff and sit there to dry off and enjoy the view. After a few minutes there, Ellie remembered that she bought something with her. So she stands up and grabs the bag that she brings with some of the things they need and starts looking for it. Soon she found it, she took it out. It was the sun screaming, but she took out her phone too. She walked back to Joel's side and threw the sun cream at him. I want you to put some on me. But first I want to take some pictures of us up here, I want to remember this day forever.

Joel caught the cream tube and put it aside and got up. "Do you think that is a good idea, to have pictures of us… like this?" He pointed to both of them. "Is not going to be good for us if someone sees them… especially your aunt."

Ellie rolled her eyes. "Why? We're not doing anything wrong… besides, she never looks into my phone."

"Yeah, but there is always a first time for everything and sometimes people always think the worst."

"Well you don't need to worry, I always keep my phone locked out and no one knows my code. Besides, you're the only person that makes me feel happy and love it, so I don't care what other people think about us… I mean, we have been friends," She passed her phone to him and moved to the edge of the cliff. "Now, I want a few of me alone with the view," She makes a few poses for Joel while he takes a few pictures of her. He feels strange taking pictures of a girl in her bikini, especially when she does a few sexy poses.

After he took a few pictures. Ellie walks back to him and grabs the phone and takes a few pictures of him. At first, he doesn't want her to do that, but as always she convinces him to do it. So she made him pose for her while she enjoyed it, making him do some funny pose. After she takes a few good pictures of him, she moves toward him and gets close to him. "Okay, now I want one of us together. I wish I could take one of a full-body, but a selfish one is the only one we can take for now."

Ellie moves closer to him pressing her body at his, for the picture. She grabbed the phone with one hand and put the other around his waist. Ellie told him to do the same, so Joel moved his left arm and grabbed her by her waist too. As Joel pulls her closer, he can feel her breasts pressing on his side. He hopes that she takes the picture faster or he is going to get hard very soon. But no, she moves the phone around trying to get the best angle. But while she was doing that, her body rubbed with his. He can feel her soft skin and her breasts press more and more at him. After a few minutes, she takes a few pictures of them and when she finishes she moves away from him.

"Okay, I think we are done with that." She looks at her phone and smiles. "Okay, now you can put the sun cream on me before I get a sunburn," She walked to where her bag was and put the phone back inside. Soon she turned around, she saw Joel jumped out of the cliff again. Ellie ran toward the edge and looked down. Hey! What the hell do you do that for? You were almost dry."

Joel hears Ellie talking, but he didn't have any choice, but to jump into the water again. He got hard after Ellie finished with the picture and he can let her see him like that. So the best way to lower it down was the cold water. By the time he dicks got soft again, he looked up and saw that the sky was getting darker. So he swims to the shore and goes up the cliff as fast as he can.

Soon he got there, he saw Ellie packing their things and putting her t-shirt on. "We need to get back, it is going to rain soon."

"Yeah, I notice that. I told you that it was going to rain, so let's hurry before the rain catches us up here."

"Yeah… let go."


	11. A Night in the Cabin

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After Joel and Ellie were having a good time in the lake rain starts to fall and they have to get back to Joel's house. But as the rain started t get heavy and the night start to fall down they have to stop in the old cabin and wait for the rain to stop.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I do not own any character of (The Last of Us) TLOU is owned by Naughty Dog and their creators.
> 
> A/N: I hope everyone is okay out there, remember to stay safe and Gods bless us all. Here another chapter, I hope you enjoy it and thanks for reading my story and comment.

**Chapter 11: A Night in the Cabin**

Joel and Ellie start running after they get their stuff. But the rain caught them before they got to the cabin. While they swam and played on the lake, they lost track of the time and did not notice how the sky started to get cloudy and darker.

"I told you that it was going to rain," says Joel while running on the forest toward the old cabin.

"Yeah, you said it… but it does not matter now… we're all wet." She replayed while running behind him.

After they got down the hill, Joel saw the cabin from a distance. "Okay, I can see the cabin from here... just hurry up," A few minutes later they arrive at the old cabin and go inside.

Thet stops in the living room trying to get some air back on their longs. Ellie was all wet and was trembling. "Man... that water was... cold," she said while putting the bag on the floor and moving the towel off her head.

"We need to get dry… Did you bring any extra towels?" asked Joel while looking around.

"No, I only bring my and you?" she asked before she noticed the water that was entering the cabin through the hole in the roof. "Shit our things," Ellie moves quickly and gets the cooler away from the falling water. Joel moves toward her and grabs the other bag where some of the food was. That living room was getting filled with water, so they needed to move their things to another place. It was raining hard so they can't go out and try to get to Joel's house now.

"This part is getting all wet, we need to move the things away from this part of the cabin," Joel walked to the bathroom, to get the clothes they left there. But some water entered through a hole on the bathroom roof and there was water in there too. Joel grabbed the clothes but all of them were wet now, except for Ellie underwear and his pants.

Soon Joel got out of the bathroom, he saw Ellie moving their thing to the back bedroom. "This is the only place where it will stay dry. The roof is still intact here and as all the windows," says Ellie as soon as she passes him and enters the bedroom.

"Okay, I will get the other things," Soon Joel brought the other things to the room, he saw Ellie taking off her t-shirt and started to squeeze on a corner of the room. "We need to change, it is going to get colder and we can't stay wet."

Ellie turned around and looked at him. "And how are we going to do that? All the clothes we bring are wet," she said, already trembling.

Joel moves closer to her and gives her the underwear. "I found this in the bathroom, they are still dry. You can use this too, while your other clothes get dry." He passed the shirt he was wearing before he changed to the t-shirt and shorts. He was lucky to put it inside the bag they left in the cabin before they left.

Ellie's face was red as a tomato because Joel was touching her underwear. But before things got more embarrassing, Ellie grabbed her underwear out of Joel's hands. "Thanks, I will go to the bathroom and change. You should do the same. Did you have something to wear?" said Ellie while walking out of the room.

"The pants I have when we get here are still dry, so I can use it. Be careful in the bathroom, it has some water in."

"Okay, thanks," Ellie walked into the bathroom and put the dry clothes on top of the box there. The floor was wet as some water was entering through a hole in the roof. It wasn't much but was making the place colder. She rubbed her arm to try to get a little warmer. She tried to look through the window and saw that it was going to get dark soon. So it is going to be difficult to get back to Joel's house with this rain in the dark. A few minutes later, Ellie started to take her bikini off. Soon she was naked, she grabbed the t-shirt that she squeezed in the room and used to dry herself a little. Yeah, it's still wet but she can still use it to dry her body a little.

While she does that she looks at the entrance, maybe expecting Joel to show up and see her like that. She doesn't know why she was thinking about that again. She has never shown her naked body to anyone before. But she knows that Joel is a decent person and he is not going to take advantage of her. Every time she thinks of Joel like that, she feels something inside of her. After she finishes drying her body as best she could. Ellie grabs her underwear and starts to put it on.

A few minutes later, after Ellie goes out of the room. Joel looks at the entrance to make sure Ellie is out of sight, then he starts to take off his shorts. He has nothing to wear except for the long pants that he was wearing when they came here. All the other clothes he has were wet and he gives Ellie his dry shirt, so he has to use only his pants. Soon he was naked he uses one of the wet towels to dry his body the best he could. As Joel was drying his hair, he didn't see when Ellie came back and stopped at the entrance of the room. Lucky for him, he was faced with one of the windows and Ellie only saw his backside.

She opened her eyes wider as soon as she saw his butt and while he was naked drying his head. Ellie quickly covered her mouth and moved behind the wall hoping that Joel wouldn't see her there. She was breathing faster now, she had never seen a man or a boy naked before. And even though she saw a few movies in the past, she never saw one in real life. But Joel was real and was right there. Ellie tried not to think about that, but it was hard. She was lucky that Joel was facing the window or she could see his... She closed her eyes and tried to relax, she was getting tempted to look again. But it was better not too, or she is not going to be able to sleep toning.

Ellie knows that they have to spend the night here. Even if she did it before, she never sleeps here when it is raining or with another person. Ellie closes her eyes for a moment and starts to think. _I'm going to sleep with him in the same room… god, what am I going to do now? Yes, I have a few dreams with Joel and me together, but this is not a dream._ Ellie opens her eyes and waits for a few minutes before moving away from the wall and goes into the room. Soon she was in the entrance she was glad that Joel was with his pants on now. "Hey Joel, I'm finished… oh, I see that… you change...good,"

Joel moved close to the window where he found some wood sticks and hung the towel there. "Yes, well as much as I can since all my clothes are wet, but you can come in," he said with his back toward the entrance.

Ellie walked in and started looking for a place where she could hang her wet clothes. She tries not to look at Joel much. Even if he has his pants on, he was shirtless. That is not really decent but it is better to have him completely naked in the room. "What are we going to do now? It is getting dark, so we can't walk back to your house with weather like these."

Joel turned around and looked at her. Lucky for him the t-shirt he gave her almost covered all her body. It is to shame that she has to see him like this. "Yeah, it seems that we don't have too much choice that spends the night here," he said while moving some of their things around. "Sorry that you have to see me like this, I know that this is inappropriate, but I have nothing more to wear. But don't worry soon I get things here ready. I can go to the living room, so you can stay here."

Ellie moves closer to him and hugs herself when she feels a little chilly. "Joel is okay. I am not a child anymore, so you don't have to move out of the room just to make me feel better. I know this is not the best way to do this, but I am not going to let you sleep there because it is wet and cold."

Both of them stay looking at each other for a few minutes without saying anything. _How can this girl be so mature?_ Joel turns his head after a few minutes and looks around, to see what they can do for the night. "Well at least this room is dry and secure, so we do not have to worry about getting wet or feel the chill wind. But if the rain continues is going to get colder here," he moves around and grabs the blanket they bring. "Lucky for us the blanket we bring is still dry so you can use that to cover yourself." he tosses it to her.

Ellie grabbed it and looked at it. "What about you? What are you going to use to sleep?"

Joel smiled at her making sure to not make her uncomfortable. "I will be fine, no need to worry about it," he said while looking around again. "Now, what we need to do is make this room warmer. It is still summer, but with this rain is going to get colder later."

Ellie put the blanket on the floor and walked close to him. She starts to feel strange, just by looking at him. Yes, she sees him without a shirt before, but being this close to him like this is making her body act in a strange way. "What about a fire that can warm the room right?" she asked, trying to make her other thoughts go away.

"We can't do that, not if you want to put the whole cabin on fire. The fireplace is in the living room, so start a fire there is not going to work for us either. Also, it is going to get dark soon, so we're going to need some kind of light in here before it gets complete darkness."

Ellie's eyes opened wider. "Oh… shit, now that I remember I left a few things the last time I stayed here," she said while running out of the room. She came back a few minutes later with a few things on her hands. "Here, we can use this," she said while passing him the lamp. "I also have another blanket but it gets wet too."

Joel grabbed the kerosene lamp and looked at it. "Great, it still has some gas on it, I just hope it works," He walked toward his bag and took out a lighter. "Where did you have this?"

"It was inside the wood box that is in the bathroom. But the blanket I had there was in the bottom and got wet. I forget that I left that here the last time I slept here. Don't worry it still works, well it did the last time I used it."

Joel uses the lighter and puts the lamp on the floor. Joel lights up the lamp and it starts to illuminate the room. "Yes, this will work, for the illumination, but not much to keep us warm. So we need to figure out how to stay warm." Joel moves the lamp to the middle of the room.

Ellie kneels down and gets close to the lamp."The lamp generates a little heat, so if we stay close to it we can get warm." she said while putting her hand on top of it.

"Yeah, that can work a little, but that lamp is not going to last all night," Joel stood up and walked toward one of the bags. "Anyway let's see what we have to eat, are you hungry?" They eat a sandwich when they're on the cliff, but that was 3 hours ago and if they have to stay there all night they need to eat something before going to sleep.

Ellie turns her head and looks at him. "We still have food? Man, that is great. What we have left? because I'm starving."

Joel starts to take out what they have left. It wasn't much but that will be fine until they go back to the house. "Well, we have two more sandwiches and a big bag of chips. That can kill our hunger tonight. Also, we have two more bottles of water and a… okay never mind."

"If you think that is going to hold my hunger you are the wrong man. I can eat all that myself and stay hungry," she said laughing.

Joel looked at her and smiled. It was good to see her like this, all relaxed and happy, and in some way, it made him happy too. He goes to the cooler and grabs two bottles of water and goes back to Ellie. "Here, don't drink too much water or are going to make you pee a few times," he said, passing the water and the sandwich to her.

"Well, it's too late for that, I already pee when I go to the bathroom," she said while grabbing the food and water.

Joel sat beside her on the floor. "Gross, remember me not to go there again," he said, teasing her.

Ellie leaned on him and punched him on the arm. "I use the toilet hole dummy, and am lucky that I didn't have to do number two." She smiled again.

Joel shook his head. "Ohhh… that is even grosser."

Both of them stay closer to the lamp while eating the food. Ellie tries to look around the room to get distracted. Watching Joel without a shirt it was hard. The vision of him naked was still alive in her mind, even if only she saw his butt. _Why do I have to see that?_ She did a discrete look at him to see his chest. He has some hair there but she can still see his apps and firm form. _Shit… now l will get worse_. She needs a distraction and fasts. "It is a miracle that this place is still up. I found this place a few years ago. And from what I see it was abandoned a long time ago."

Joel looked around looking at the place. Yeah, whatever the person that built this, does a great job. Cabins like this don't hold much without maintenance." he takes a bite of his food than look at Ellie. "What about your aunt? What are you going to tell her now?" Joel asked while looking at the lamp now. "She will be mad when she finds out that you stay out all night."

Ellie takes another bite of her food and looks toward the lamp too. "Don't worry about it, she will be out all weekend, she always does."

Joel shook his head. He can't believe that her aunt acts like that toward her. "So she left you alone a lot? That is not right."

"You don't need to worry about it, I like it that way. Even when she is at home we don't talk much or do things together. And even that she takes care of me in her own way. We're never that close. And that reminds me… can I stay in your house for the rest of the weekend?" she asked trying to change the subject.

Joel turned his head and looked at her. "Ellie, I already told you that it is not right for a girl to spend the night in a man's house."

She looked at him with a disappointing face. "Yeah, you said it like a hundred times. But if it is going to rain all weekend I prefer to be in your house and not alone in mine. Besides, we are already going to spend the night here together, so what is the difference."

Joel shook his head. "This is not the same Ellie. We're going to stay here because we don't have any other choice," he looks at the lamp again. "Ellie, I like the fact that we're friends now. But if your aunt or some else, finds out that you are spending the night at my house they are probably going to call the cops. And that will be bad, especially for me. Do you understand?"

"Don't worry about it, I get it." Ellie stands up and grabs the blanket. "I am tired so I will go to sleep now." She gets to the other side of the lamp and lay down. Ellie covers herself with the blanket and turns around facing the wall.

Joel hates to see her like this, but he needs to keep his distance from her. He doesn't go to admit that he is starting to feel something for her, and that is not going to end well. After Joel finish, he lay down beside on the other side of the lamp. "Good night Ellie." She didn't reply back. _Yeah, she is mad now, but maybe its better that way. Sorry to ruin your day kiddo. But there line some that we can cross._ He said to himself before he closed his eyes.

( A few hours later )

Joel opened his eyes not remember where he was. The place was dark so he looks at the ceiling and tries to clear his mind. Then he remembers that he was in the old cabin… with Ellie. He remembers the rain and that he was shirtless, so he supposed to feel the cold of the night, but it was the opposite. _Why I feel so warn...like some_ \- he started to say until he noticed that he was covered with the blanket and someone was practically on top of him. He up his head and looks down. Then he saw Ellie's head laying on top of his chest. Half of her body was on top of him, warming him. But also, he can feel her naked legs and her breasts pressing on him.

Joel doesn't know what to do, but he needs to move her away from him. "Ellie… wake up." he started shaking her and talk to her in a lower voice. He can let her sleep this close to him, even if it feels good. He is not sleeping with anyone in years, and have a 16 years old girl on top of him, is not look good. He continued calling her name and shaking her body trying to wake her up.

_Hmmm… please no now. Just let me sleep for five more minutes._ He hears her whisper

Ellie, you need to move to the other side. "This is not-"

He stopped when Ellie move one arm and hugged him tightly. He wants to move her off, but she just gets closer to him. He can't deny that her body feels so good and warm, so he decides to let her sleep there for the rest of the night. He knows that he no supposed to sleep with a minor like that. But for tonight that was better than to feel the cold from outside. So he lay down and went back to sleep.

( Later in the morning )

Lucky for them the rain stops during the night. Joel wakes up early and moves away from Ellie, but as she didn't wake up when he moved away, he let her sleep a little more. After the sun goes out and Ellie wakes up, Joel starts to chek their things and start packing. Lucky for them their clothes were a little dry, so they put them back grab their things and get out of the cabin.

They didn't talk much on the way back. Joel thought that Elie was still mad at him because he doesn't let her stay in his house for the weekend. They walk carefully in the forest since the ground was still wet and slippery. Joel was curious about why Ellie ended on top of him during the night. And even that Ellie doesn't want to talk about it, he needs to know. "Hey Ellie," says Joel while walking behind her. "Why did you… cover me with the blanket last night?" that wants the real question but that will do for now.

Ellie didn't turn around so that way he can't see her red face. She didn't do that with bad intention. But she doesn't want him to know that she feels good sleeping beside him. She hasn't slept that well in a long time. Feel his body that close was something she never experienced before and feels good. "Sorry about that, I wasn't trying to do anything bad, I just saw you trembling after we fell asleep and it wasn't fair to have the blanked all for myself. So I just go to your side and lay down beside you and put the blanket on top of us to get warm."

"Yeah, that will be a good idea in other circumstances. The body heat is a better way to keep a human body warm."

"Yeah, I read that in a survival book once."

"Well, even that I wanted to thank you for that, it wasn't right." Joel doesn't want to make her feel bad, but she needs to understand that it is not right for a minor to sleep that close to a man.

"I so sorry, I didn't want to make you uncomfortable. I won't do it again," They continued walking for half an hour but didn't say much after that. Soon they arrive at Joel's house. Ellie stops and turns around. "Do you think that you can give me a ride back home? I'm a little tired and walk back home… it will be hard for me."

Joel walked to the porch and put their thing down. "Yeah, I can do that… But if you want to stay here until tomorrow… I don't have any problem with that."

Ellie looked at him and smiled. "Do you really mean it?"

"Yes kiddo, I mean it," says Joel, turning around and open the front door.

"What about what you said in the cabin? About a girl like me sleeping in a hose with a man alone?"

Joel lowered his head. "Sorry about all that, I know that we aren't supposed to do this, but I don't want you to stay alone in your house. So if you want to stay is okay with me."

Ellie didn't know what to say, after what happened yesterday, this is going to be her best weekend ever. Ellie dropped her backpack and ran toward Joel and hugged him. Thank you, Joel, you're the best."


	12. Ellie's home

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After Joel and Ellie come back from the lake, Ellie asks Joel if she can stay in his house. So after Joel thinks about, he agrees to let her stay, but she need to take her home to pick of a few things.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I do not own any character of (The Last of Us) TLOU is owned by Naughty Dog and their creators.
> 
> Thank you for reading, and I hope that every one is safe home.

**Chapter 12: Ellie's home**

After they enter the house, Joel put the empty cooler on the kitchen floor and the bag with all the trash they make out there on the counter. They bring them all back to dispose of them and not leave more garbage in the old cabin. Ellie stays in the living room while putting her backpack on the floor.

"Well, that was a good adventure, don't you think?" She asked while walking closer to the kitchen counter. It would be perfect if it wasn't for all that rain. _That I don't think it was bad at all._ She said to herself while thinking the night before.

"That was an interesting experience. I'm glad that you have a good time," replay Joel while taking out the garbage they bring back. "Anyway, we need to take out our dirty clothes and take a hot shower. Do you want to go first?" asked Joel while putting the garbage in the trash can.

Ellie thought about what he said, taking the clothes off sounded like a good idea. But she knew that he did not mean it in that way. "That sounds great, the only problem is that I do not have anything to wear. All my clothes are dirty or wet and I didn't bring any extra ones."

Joel, look at her and start to think. "Yeah, you're right. I can give you a t-shirt to wear but my pants don't fix you and you can't be here all day wearing one of my boxes."

Ellie sat in one of the counter chairs and looked at him. "Why not, your t-shirts are long enough to cover most of my body."

Joel turns around and goes to the fridge. "Sorry, but I can't do that. If you want to stay here today, you need to get clean clothes," Joel opened the fridge and grabbed a beer and an apple juice and closed the door. "Here, if you're hungry I can prepare something after I take a shower." He passed Ellie the juice battle.

He doesn't like apple juice much, but he buys a few bottles, so that way Ellie can have something to drink when she comes to the house.

Ellie grabbed the juice and looked at him. "Why do I get the juice and you get the good stuff?"

Joel opens the beer and takes a big sip. Soon he put it down and looked at Ellie. "Because you are still a minor, and you can't drink alcohol," he said with a smile on his face.

"Ohhh Man… that sucks. I just want to be 21 already." Ellie moves the juice to the side and leans forward. "But you can give me a sip, nobody needs to know. It can be our little secret."

"Nice try… but the answer is still no," Joel took the bottle to his mouth and drank the rest of the beer. When he finished, he threw the empty bottle into the trash can. "Hey, do you want me to drive you home. Maybe you can pick up some clothes there, what do you think?"

Ellie looked at him with suspicious eyes. "You want to take me home to pick up some clothes?" then she lowered her head. "Or you just want to take me to my house and leave me there?"

Joel saw her sad expression and moved closer. He put one hand on top of hers. "Listen, kiddo, I told you that you can spend the day here and I am not going to change my mind on that. But you don't have anything clean to wear here, so it is better if we go to your house so that way you can change and bring something to sleep with." Take her there and leave it sound like a batter idea. But again he did not want to leave her alone there.

Ellie looks at Joel's hand. She can feel that electricity kind of feeling going through her body again and it feels good. She liked every time he touched her even if it was just a simple touch. But sometimes she wanted more than a simple touch. And now that she spends an entire night in his arms, she wants even more. "Okay, let's do that… but if you try to let me there…"

"I won't… Promise!" He says moving his hand away.

Ellie felt a little disappointed when he moved his hand away from her. Sometimes she wishes that Joel would just grab her face and kiss her. "Okay."

"Okay, so I will take a shower and put on some clean clothes. Then we go to your house and pick up what you need." Joel walked to his room and Ellie went to her backpack and checked that all her things were there.

( One hour later )

Joel was driving his pick-up truck toward Ellie's home. Cutting through the woods on foot takes Ellie one hour of walking, but it is only 15 minutes in the car. But this time it takes a little more than that because Joel has to take the main road and circulate around the lake.

As Joel never drove to her house, Ellie had to give him an indication of what road he needed to take to her house. The lake part of the town doesn't have too many houses, so he does not have any problem finding hers.

Ellie was a little excited that Joel was going to her house. He never visited her house before, so this was going to be his first time. But in another way, Ellie was sad because the summer was almost over. But that does not mean that she will stop going to Joel's house. Soon they find Ellie's house road, she points it in the distance. "There… That is my house."

Joel drove his truck and stopped in front of the house. Soon after he stopped Joel started looking around for her aunt's car."

Ellie opens the passenger door and goes out. Then she looked at him. "If you are looking for my aunt's car, she is not here. I already told you that she will be out all weekend so you don't need to worry. Now, c'mon I wanted to show you the inside of the house," She says running toward the front door.

Joel gets out of the truck and looks around again, just making sure that there is nobody there to see him. He was thinking about meeting her aunt and let her know that he has good intentions with her. But that has to wait for another time. Joel started to move away from the truck and looked at the house. The house was bigger than his. It is a two-floor house with a front porch. The house looks like a regular one. And besides the surrender forest, don't have too much around.

As he was walking toward the front door where Ellie was. He saw a few flowers and small bushes there. He stopped to check the surrender of the house when he hears Ellie calling him.

"This house looks too big for the two of you," Joel says soon he gets closer to her.

Ellie looked around then back at him. "Yeah, but it is not us, My aunt rented," Said Ellie while opening the door. "My aunt never buys a house because we have to move a few times because of her job," she paused for a moment. "This is the first time we stayed this long in one place. So this time maybe I will stay living here forever."

Joel looked at her sad expression. "Ohh, I see. So what does your aunt do for work?"

Ellie looked at him. "She is in marketing or something like that, but I don't want to talk about that now," Ellie grabbed his arm and pulled him into the house. "C'mon I want to show you the house a little, before we go up to my room," Soon they were inside, she started to show him the house. "As you can see, this is the living room. It is not much here and almost all belong to the owner," she says while starting to show him the place. "The first floor has the living room, the kitchen, and the laundry room on the back. Also, have a small bathroom on that corridor over there."

"Oh that is nice," he said while she continued.

"The second floor has another bathroom. A bigger one than the one down here, and two bedrooms. The big one is my aunts and the other small one is mine. Do you want to see it?"

"Ellie I don't think that-" She grabbed his harm again and didn't let him finish.

"Is okay Joel, nobody is going to see you here. The closer house is like 15 minutes walking from here," She told him while pulling him toward the stairs. Both of them go up the stairs to the second floor. She pointed him to where the bathroom was and her aunt's bedroom. Then

continue walking until they arrive at the front of her room. "This is my room." She looked at him and smiled. Then she opened the door and pulled him into the room.

Joel started to look around. "This is a nice room." Say Joel looking at all the posters she has on the walls. He was expecting some new kids on the block, Backstreet boys, N sync posters, or all kinds of shit like that. But instead, He saw posters from Billy Joel, Michael Jackson, and some other 80 singers.

"Do you like it?" Ellie asked him with a smile.

Joel was surprised that this girl liked that kind of music. "Do you like all those singers?" say Joel pointing to the posters.

Ellie looked at them. "Yeah, I have some of their CDs too. I like 80's music. I hear them all the time before but not much now."

"Really? I thought that a girl like you like this kind of music. I thought that you would like to hear… teen music."

"Nah… I like the old stuff. 80's music is the best."

"I think the same. I hear all that music when I was younger. I love it."

"Cool." Ellie moves to the table where she has her laptop. She opens a drawer and shows Joel a few of her CDs. "I still have a few original CDs, but I downloaded most of my 80's music into my laptop." Ellie was really excited. Showing Joel her things, it was something that she never did before. After all this year living in this town, she never has brought someone to her aunt's house, not even one from school.

So having Joel here in her room, it was like showing her room to a boyfriend for the first time. Will that be fine with her? Thinking about Joel like that? As she was lost in thoughts, Ellie didn't notice that Joel was looking at her with worried eyes. Yeah, she knows that Joel is maybe too old to be her boyfriend, but just thinking about it makes her feel something inside. Some people think that that is all wrong. That in the world they live in, an old person can't be with a younger one. But somehow Ellie doesn't agree with that, she always thinks that people should love whatever they want no matter the age.

"Hey, are you okay kiddo?" asked Joel while putting one hand on her shoulder. "Earth to Ellie!"

Ellie shook her head and snapped out of it. She doesn't know why, but Joel always makes her feel strange, but in a good way. "Yeah, I'm fine… I was just thinking about something and forgot that you're here." she giggles at the end.

Joel looks at her trying not to imagine what was on Ellie's mind. "Okay, if you need more time to get ready? I can go outside and wait for you in the truck."

"Oh… No, no… you don't need to do that, you can wait here. I'm just going to take a quick shower and get what I need after that."

"Okay, but you will need your room to change."

Ellie moves to her drawer and opens "Don't worry, I can take what I am going to wear to the bathroom and change there." Ellie starts to look for clean underwear and the clothes that she is going to use.

Joel looks away while she looks into her clothes. He starts to feel a little embarrassed, he hasn't been in a girl's room since he started to go out with his first girlfriend. And that was a long time ago. But being in Ellie's room feels wrong because she is only a teenage girl and he is an old man. "I should go out. It is wrong for a man my age to be in a girl's room." Say Joel while starting heading toward the door.

Ellie turned her head and looked at him. "No... you don't need to go." she almost shouts at

him. "I mean, you can wait here, I just got what I need. But you can do me a favor. Go downstairs and get my backpack. I left it in the living room on top of the couch. I will need, to put my things in there."

"Sure, no problem." He turns around and walks out of the room. Soon Ellie hears him go downstairs, she takes a deep breath. Then she put her clothes on her face and screamed. _Ahhhrrrr_ She can't believe that she brought him up into her room and showed him her stuff. And she is pretty sure that he saw her underwear when she pulled them out of the drawer. It is not that she doesn't like to have him here, it is just that she doesn't know what he is going to think about her. But she needs to get all those thoughts out of her head if she is going to survive the night at his house. After a few minutes, she walked out of her room and went into the bathroom.

Joel goes to the living room and gets her backpack. Then he goes back to her room and put it on top of her bed. He gives another check to her room and after a few minutes decides to wait for her downstairs. Ellie says that her aunt was going to be out all weekend, but he does not want to get caught in her room if she shows up. He doesn't understand how her aunt leaves her alone all the time. Even if she is not a little girl anymore, she is still a minor. That made him furious some time.

Joel started to look around the living room. Joel remembers her telling him that the house was rental, that her aunt never buys a house because she travels a lot because of her work. So maybe most of the things here are not theirs. Joel walks toward a table that has some pictures on it. Soon he gets closer, he grabs one of them. In the picture are two young women, one must be Ellie's aunt and the other must be her mother. They look happy and closer to the picture. Joel starts to think about how Ellie feels when she loses her mother. Yeah, she told him that she was just a kid when it happened, but most hurt anyway. Then he thought about her aunt. It must be hard to lose a sister at a young age and have to take care of her child.

Joel put the picture down as soon as he started to think about his loss. It was strange that he hadn't been thinking about that since the day he met Ellie. Somehow this girl is making his nightmare go away for a while. It is not like he is forgetting about what happens, but is making it less painful. Joel started to look at other pictures there. And saw one where Ellie was just a baby.

He quickly moves away, before more painful thoughts come into his mind. He moved away from the table and sat on the couch. He is just hoping Ellie goes out soon, and that her aunt doesn't show and see an old man sitting in the living room.

Ellie was trying not to think of Joel when she was taking her shower. Even though Joel was handsome and had a good body, that is not the reason that she felt attracted to him. She can see that he is a man in pain and somehow she feels like helping him. But how? He doesn't like to talk about his past, even if he has changed a lot in the last two months. But somehow he looks happier or at least less depressing. But also she notices that even though he wanted to be alone at the beginning, Joel seems to care about her now. She doesn't know if he is just trying to be a father figure, but deep inside of her, she hopes that that won't be the case.

After she finishes her shower, Ellie goes out, grabs the towel, and starts to dry her body. Just like in the cabin, Ellie looks at the door, waiting for Joel to show up and see her naked. She doesn't know why she wants that, because she never had those kinds of thoughts before for someone. Well, she has some before, but not like this. _C'mon Ellie pull yourself together, he doesn't like you like that. He probably sees you like a daughter or something like that. Oh, God… I hope not, or this is going to get more weird than before._ After she finishes drying her body she grabs her underwear and puts it on. After that, she grabs a red t-shirt and jumpsuit and put it on.

After she finishes dressing, Ellie goes out of the bathroom and walks toward her room. Soon she got in, and saw that Joel wasn't there, she got worried. _Shit! Where is he? S_ aid Ellie while looking around the room without noticing her backpack on the bed. _No, no, no… he can't change his mind and let me here… he promised._ Ellie ran out of her room and started to call him. "Joel! … Joel!"

Joel jumped out of the couch and ran toward the stairs. "Ellie… are you okay? Is something wrong?" he asked as soon he saw her on the top of the stair.

Ellie's heart was beating fast but started to calm down when she saw him. "No, I'm fine, I just thought that...never mind I Just going to put a few things in my backpack and we can go."

"Okay, I will wait for you outside okay?" Joel looked at her before he moved out and noticed that she looked a little scared a few minutes ago. Did she think that he would go without her? And even if he changed his mind, why was she so scared about it?

Ellie doesn't want him to wait outside but is going to sound weird if she insists on him to stay inside, so she doesn't protest this time. "Okay, it's only going to take me a few minutes." She ran back to her room and started to grab some extra clothes and other things she can need and put them on the top of her bed. Before she starts to put things inside the backpack, she starts to take out all the dirty clothes that she uses on the lake and put them on her hamper.

After she finished, Ellie went downstairs and got out of the house. Soon she saw Joel beside the pick-truck, she turned around and closed the front door. After that, she walked toward him with a smile on her face. "Are you sure about this? Is still time to change your mind?'' Joel asked.

Ellie looked up and saw the black cloudy sky. "Yes, I'm sure." She answered him.

"Okay, let go," He waits for Ellie to get close and opens the door for her. "Come to princes."

"Oh, thank you, my good sir," she said with a giggle.

Soon she was in, Jole closed the door. Then, he moved toward the driver's side and opened the door and got in.

"Is going to rain again," she said while looking at him.

Joel put the key in the ignition and started the pick-truck. "Yep, I can see that. I just hope that you don't get bored this time. Because I have no plans on playing any card games again with you."

"Oh, don't worry we can do other things besides playing cards."

Joel looked at her and smiled. I'm not sure what, but let's hope it doesn't rain all day." After that Joel started to drive away from her house and back to his home.


	13. Ellie's Sleepover again

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> As Joel takes Ellie back to his house, thinks are going to start to change between them. As they will open themselves a little more about they past.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I do not own any character of (The Last of Us) TLOU is owned by Naughty Dog and their creators.
> 
> A/N: I want To thank (Blue) a reader from this page for helping me in the edition of this chapter. Thanks for offering yourself and help me with this. Also, I want to thank the people that are reading this story, thank you and be safe out there. 
> 
> And now, Lest continues with the story...

**Chapter 13: Ellie's Sleepover Again**

Joel was driving back to his house with Ellie sitting beside him. He was thinking about Ellie staying in his house again. He didn't know if that was a good idea or not, but somehow, he feels good around her. _What is wrong with her aunt? Why does she seem to be so negligent with Ellie? Yeah, she is 16 and doesn't need a babysitter, but it is hard to believe that her adult guardian focuses more on her job than taking care of her niece._ Joel thought that maybe it was time to talk with her aunt and find out. Ellie told him several times that she was okay with that, but that did not mean that it was right.

"So, what is your aunt doing for a living? I mean what work does she do?" Joel asked out of nowhere. He already asked Ellie in her house, but she didn't tell him much.

Ellie turned her head and looked at him. "Why do you want to know?" she asked back.

Joel looked at her for a moment, then looked back at the road. "I don't know, I'm just curious. You said that she travels a lot and that you never had any steady home. I just want to know more about her," Says Joel while continue driving.

Ellie rolled her eyes and turned her head toward the car window and started looking outside. "I don't really want to talk about that."

Joel looked back at her. "Why? Is she being bad to you? Well beside leaving you alone a lot."

Ellie turned her head quickly and looked at him. "No!... It's nothing like that okay," she turned her head back to the window and continued. "She is a good person and hard working I guess. She has been taking care of me since my mom- since I was little. It's… it's just that... we are not that close I guess," Ellie doesn't have any problem with her aunt, on the contrary, she let her do her things and never asked too many questions. And right now that was a good thing. Ellie doesn't know what her aunt will do if she finds out about Joel and her. Yeah, they're not doing anything wrong… yet. But she knows that she will ruin anything if she finds that she has been lying to her.

Joel saw her sad face, and the last thing he wanted was to upset her. "Okay, don't talk about it if you don't want to. I just want to be sure that you're okay. Because it is not right for a woman to leave a minor alone in the house all the time." Joel cares about her for her now and he only wants to be sure that everything is right with her.

After a few minutes, Ellie looks back at him. "I'm fine Joel, nothing is bad between my aunt and me. But if you want to talk about my aunt, you need to tell me more about your life before you came here," Ellie turned her gaze to the front and continued. I think it is fair that if you want to know more about me, you need to tell me more about you too."

Joel looked at her again. He started to think about his life before he came here. He doesn't want to talk about that, especially not with Ellie. Because one of the reasons to come here was to forget all that, and maybe to get a new start, just like he promised. But he knows that the pain is always there, even if he moves on with his life. He is thankful that this girl makes him forget sometimes, but that is not going to change his past. But Ellie is right, he doesn't like to talk about his past or his problems, so why does he want to talk about hers? She already told him that she doesn't have any friends and that she likes to be alone and he wants to know why? Ellie looked sad the first time they met, but somehow she looks better now and he was happy about that.

Joel didn't say anything more until they arrived at his house. Joel parks the truck in front of the house and turns it off. "Okay, I will tell you a few things about my past, if you tell me something about you and your aunt, is that fair for you?"

Ellie looked at him with curious eyes. She doesn't want to talk about her relationship with her aunt, even if it is not that bad. But he never talked about his past before, except for a few things when he was a kid. She knows it has to be painful because he looks like a man in pain the first day they met. Ellie wants to help him somehow, but first, she needs to know the whole story if she can.

"Okay… I think that's fair," she said with a smile on her face.

Joel looked at her not knowing if talking about his past is going to be a good idea. Joel stared at her face looking at her beautiful eyes. He feels ashamed sometimes when he looks at her like that. He doesn't know how this girl is getting more and more into his mind. Joel noticed that Ellie was steering at him too. Maybe wondering why he was looking at her like that. Ellie was a beautiful girl. He can see that, and even though she is 16 years old, she looks so mature. He does not want her to get too close to him, but sometimes she makes him forget, and somehow he likes that. They stay a few minutes looking at each other and didn't notice that the rain started to fall.

Soon they saw the water falling down, both of them broke the staring at each other and looked at the front window. "Shit!" They both said at the same time.

"Close the window," says Joel quickly while he starts to close his.

Soon Ellie closes her eyes and looks back at Joel. "Oh, man I don't want to get wet again. Do you have an umbrella or something to cover us?"

Joel looks at the back of the seat but doesn't see anything. "No... but I can go inside and look for something and come back for you."

Ellie was surprised that he offered himself to go out into the rain. "But you will get wet."

"Ahhh... don't worry about that. I can change if I do. Just wait here okay?" Joel moves to the side and opens the door of the truck and goes out. It was raining heavily now, so he ran as fast as he can until he got to the front door.

Ellie watched him open the door and go inside. She looks at the front of the house and starts to think. Man, that was a nice gesture, he just went out and got wet just for me. Well, we have to get out at some point and we would get wet anyway. But he doesn't want me to get wet, so that was nice. He also opens the door when we get out of my house, so I can see that under all that rudeness is a gentleman. Ellie looked at the rain, she loved it when it rained, she only told Joel that she doesn't like to be alone when it rains. Because that day she wants to spend more time in his house… with him. Yeah, she is not proud to lie about that, but it was worth it.

After a few minutes, she saw Joel coming out of his house with a big plastic thing over his head. He walked to the passenger side and opened the door. "I didn't find an umbrella, but I think this can work. Now c'mon before the ground gets more slippery."

Ellie grabs her backpack and gets out of the truck and closes the door. Joel covers her with the plastic thing and starts walking toward the house. "Oh, man my shoes are going to get all muddled."

"Sorry kiddo, but there is nothing I can do about that. But don't worry, you can clean them later. Now... move before we get all wet," said Joel pulled Ellie as fast as he can.

Joel's arms around Ellie feel good and the heat of his body always feels great to her. The bad thing is, that it does not last long. The rain was getting heavier, so it was good that it only took a minute to get to the front porch of the house. They were lucky that Joel put a little roof there, and that cover them from the rain a little. Soon they were in front of the door, Joel moved out from the plastic rug and started to open the door. Ellie was a little disappointed about Joel moving away from her. For some reason she wanted him wrapped around her for a longer time. "Oh, the water feels cold, even if it is still summertime." Says Ellie while waiting for Joel to open the door.

"Yeah… that is true. C'mon, we can get warm inside," Joel finally opens the door and moves aside so Ellie can enter first. Soon as she was in, Joel follows and closes the door behind him. Soon they walk into the living room, Ellie takes off the plastic rug and drops her pack on the floor close to the couch. "It's a little chilly in here, can you start the fire? I will go to my room and change, I will be right back," Joel says while walking toward his room.

"Sure, no problem," Ellie watched him go to his room. Then she walks to the fireplace and starts working on it. Ellie can't believe that she is going to spend the night with Joel again, which makes her feel so excited. Being close to Joel always makes her happy. And that is a feeling she does not want to lose… ever. While making the fire, Ellie starts to think. Is that okay? I mean feel like that about him? I've never had a boyfriend before, so why does he make me feel this way? like I wanted to be with him all the time. Is that what being in love is? Ellie never gets close to anyone at school or any of the places they live before. Not even here that is the longest place they have been living.

She never feels attracted to any boy she met, so why does she feel that way about Joel? Yes, he is old enough to be her father, but she doesn't like him that way. Even when he tries to act like one sometimes. Is that what he feels about me? Like a father figure? Oh, God… I hope not. Ellie was taken out of her thoughts when she heard Joel's voice.

"Okay, I'm back," he says as soon as he enters the living room. He looked at Ellie that was still kneeling in front of the fireplace. She was with her back toward him, so Joel stared at her body for a moment, before he talked again. After a minute of looking, he turned his head when he saw Ellie turned her head and looked at him. "Do you want hot chocolate?" he asked trying to keep his mind on other things.

"Love to, thanks," Ellie replied with a smile on her face. She watched Joel go to the kitchen and start to get the stuff for the chocolate out. Love! That is a word that she never thought to use so soon. Yeah, she loves her aunt even if they're not that close, but that is family love. Ellie stood up and walked toward the front of the kitchen and sat on the chair there. She leaned forward and put her elbow on top of the counter and her hands on both sides of her face. She just watches Joel while he makes the hot chocolate. She loves hot chocolate, even in summertime, but lucky for her the rain was making the house a little chili. So the chocolate is going to be good to warn the body a little.

Ellie looks at him trying to figure out why she likes him so much. Yeah, she never gives too much attention to that, until now. She thought that maybe it was his physical at first, but now she doesn't think so. Maybe was his mysterious life or the way he talks or does things. Or maybe a combination of all of that. Ellie is not sure about her feelings for him, at least not yet. But if she really loves him, is that wrong? Joel probably sees her as a kid, even if she is not.

Ellie was taken out of her thoughts when Joel put a cup with hot chocolate in front of her. "Here you go kiddo. But be careful, it's really hot."

Ellie looked at the cup then at him. "Dah! It is hot chocolate it supposes to be hot… right?" She tries to add some humor to the conversation so that Joel doesn't think that she is crazy or something.

"Har, har…Just try not to burn your tongue with it." He takes his cup and takes a sip. "But thinking about that maybe is going to be an improvement."

Ellie rolled her eyes and stuck out her tongue. "Yeah, very funny." Ellie grabs the cup and takes a sip. "Don't quit your day job, because you suck as a comedian."

Joel laughs a little on that and after a few minutes of silence, he speaks again. "So, you going to tell me what your aunt does for a living?"

Ellie picked up her head and looked at him. She doesn't really want to talk about that, but it seems that Joel is not going to let it go. She put the cup down and tried to find a way to talk about her aunt without feeling bad. "Well, I don't know where to start," Ellie looks at the cup for a moment. "She works with a company that sells medical insurance. But that is not the only job she has before we came here. I mean, she had some other jobs in the other places we lived in."

Joel looks at her with curious eyes. "Oh, okay. Selling insurance is hard work. I mean it is not easy to go house to house and try to sell something. Believe me, I've tried something like that before. Now I get why she travels a lot."

"Yeah, that and her boyfriend that she doesn't want to admit she has. Well, if he is that, maybe they're only having sex like crazy people. I'm not sure about that yet," Ellie grabbed the cup and took another sip.

Joel put his cup on the top of the counter and looked at her face. "Ellie, that is not a good way to talk about your aunt. I know this is not my problem, but even if she leaves you alone a lot, it is not a way to talk about her."

"Sorry, But sometimes I just feel that she goes out just to be away from me. I don't care if she finds someone to be with. Like I said before, I like to be alone and do my things," Ellie grabs the cup and takes another sip. "Sometimes I feel that she does not even love me anymore."

Joel saw a tear going down Ellie's cheek. So he moves closer and put one hand on top of hers. "That sounds really sad. I am so sorry that you feel that way, you're a nice kid and you don't deserve that," Joel moves his hand caressing hers in slow motion. "I saw a few pictures in the leaving room in your house. Where your aunt and your mom very close?"

Ellie moved her head to the side, trying to avoid Joel's eyes. "I think they were. She told me a lot about her when I was a kid. She told me all the things they did together when they were kids, but things changed when they grew up and became adults," Ellie moved a little on the chair and looked at her cup, still avoiding Joel's eyes. She told me that they stayed in contact, but when my mom got pregnant with me, she never approved. I don't know the reason, she never told me, but I think that she didn't like the man my mom was with," Ellie picked up her head and look at Joel. "Don't get me wrong I love my aunt and I know that in some way she loves me too. But I think that way deep down, she never wanted to have kids."

Joel can see that this is painful for her, but he wanted to know more. And sometimes it is good to let all that out. "So she has been taking care of you because there is nobody else? Or you have another family member?"

Ellie looked down again. "She is the only family I have, there is nobody else. She told me that she promised my mom before she died that she would take care of me," Another tear goes down her cheek. I'm okay with all that, you don't need to worry about me. Soon I'll turn 18, I can do whatever I want, even go if I want to," Ellie looked back at Joel and gave him a smile. She passes her hand on her face and cleans the few tears there. "Well, now you know a little about me. So now, it is your turn. You promise me that you will tell me something about your life before. So go ahead and start talking dude."

Joel looked at her and took a sip of his hot chocolate. "Yeah, I did. But I already told you the good parts, so I don't know what more I can tell you."

"Dude! You only told me what you did when you were a kid. So I want to know what you did after that. You mention that you have a brother and dad your dad died," Ellie leaned forward and stared at him. I want to know more about what happened to you after your dad died. Do you and your brother live alone or did you go to live with another family member?" Ellie starts to question him

Joel starts to think about what to say, it is obvious that he is not going to talk about his ex-wife or the daughter he lost. Those things were too sad and where the reason he ended up here. "Well, I think I can tell you a few more things," Joel walked out of the kitchen and walked into the living room. "As you already know, I grew up in Texas with my brother Tommy, but after my dad died we went to live with my grandfather that lived in California at that time. He takes care of my brother and me for a while, but after time that does not work out for me. I like to do things he doesn't like, so in the end, I move out of there." Joel stops in front of the fireplace. There are still some pictures on top of it. He looked at them, he put one of him and Tommy, when they were younger, but the other was already there.

Ellie stood up and walked toward him. "So you left your home to explore the world?" She asked.

Joel put one hand on the tot of the fireplace and looked a the picture of Tommy and him. "Well, no exactly the world, but I traveled through several states to find a job and to try to live a little."

Ellie goes to the couch and sat there. "That sounds so cool... How old were you?

Joel moves away and sat in a chair that was in front of the fireplace. The chair was opposite to the couch, so Ellie was in front of him. "I don't remember well, but I think I was 24 back then. I didn't do much back then, except working and drinking…"

"Really… are you going to make me believe that that is all you did? Dude, you're what now 38? 40? C'mon, you have to do something interesting than just work. Did you find a girlfriend when you travel? I bet you have a lot of sex too right?"

Joel was drinking the last of his hot chocolate when Ellie asked her question and almost make him choke. He caught a few times before answer her. "Are you crazy? Don't ask a question like that. Besides, that is not a conversation I want to have with a 16 years old girl."

Ellie laughs a little at his comment. "Are you kidding? This is the 21 century I hear girls more youngers talking about things worse than that., Anyway, did you find a good girl and married

her?" Ellie noticed that Joel was trying to evade the question. But she wanted to know what happened to him. So mention a girl or marriage is affecting him, that means that whatever happened to him was because of that. Ellie didn't want to push him, so she just waits for him to continue.

Joel stays silent for a moment, just thinking about what to say to her without revealing too much. He doesn't want to remember what happens between him and his ex. But Ellie was too smart for her age, so trying to avoid that is going to be hard. So the best way to kill a subjet is just talking a little about it.

He looks at the fire. "Yes, I found a girl." Joel started. "It was in the last state I was in. It was Nevada I think. She was a waitress at a dinner I go to eat after work. She likes to talk to me, so after a few weeks, we started dating. And a year later we got married." Joel turned his head around and look at Ellie. After a few months of marriage, I lost my job and we started having money trouble. So I decided to go back to California and stay with my grandpa and my brother for a while. Just until I find a new job and a place to live." Joel stops right there and stood up. He put his empty cup on the top of the fireplace and walked toward one of the front windows. He opens the courting a little and starts looking outside.

Ellie stood up too and get beside him. "So… what happens then? Did things go better after that?"

Joel doesn't know why he is opening himself to this girl, but he promises her to talk about his past, so it is better to give her something. "No, they get worse. My grandpa never likes the way I do things and going away didn't help much. He also didn't like much my wife, he saw something in her that makes him mad, so we would fight a lot. My brother Tommy always takes his side, so we would fight a lot too. After a few months, we got out of his house. I take the few things I have left and go back to Texas. My dad's old house is still there and as my grandfather continues paying the mortgage after my dad died, I decide to stay there for a while."

Ellie looked at him and saw the sadness on his face. He stays looking outside and does not look at her, so she knows that this must be really painful for him. "So you go back to your father's house, how do things go there?"

"It was good for a while. I called my grandfather and I told him that I will repair the damages that the house has, if he let me stay there for a while. Since he was paying for the house it was his now, but somehow he let me stay there. After a few weeks, I found a job and things went well for a time." Joel lowers his head trying to hold his tiar in. "But in the end, things don't work out between us so we get the divorce." That is all he is going to tell her. It is not the whole story, but that is all he is going to tell her. The rest is too sad and is something he doesn't want to talk about. "I think it is going to rain all day," says Joel trying to change the subject.

Ellie knew that this is all he is going to said about his life, at least for now. So it was better, to give this conversation at the end. Ellie was happy to make him talk this much. As he said before, talk about sad felling is good for the soul. "Sorry things don't work out for you Joel. But maybe she wasn't the right person for you."

Joel turned his head and looked at her. "What makes you think that?"

"Well, for starters, if she left to go a man like you. That means that she never was the right woman for you from the beginning."

Joel laughed a little. "Thank you for the compliment, but don't you think that maybe I wasn't the perfect guy for her?"

Ellie punched him lightly on his shoulder. "Dude, you're the perfect man for any woman. _Or girl!_ You're handsome, smart and a hard worker, what woman doesn't want all that?" _I do!_

"I don't know... the ex-wife?" Joel tried to joke about that, so he doesn't get sad about it. But he knew that it wasn't his fault that things go bad. Yeah, he drinks a lot after his daughter died, but after he learns what his wife did, he can live with her anymore.

Ellie looks at him and wants to change the subject. "Okay, this is getting too depressing and I don't want to ruin a perfect weekend."

Yeah, Ellie is happy to know a little more about Joel, and she knows that is more on that story. But she does not want to ruin her perfect and happy weekend. So it is time to do something else.

Joel turned around and walked to the fireplace again and sat in a chair there. "Perfect weekend? All we did was get wet and sleep in an abandoned cabin."

"And you didn't find that exciting?" says Ellie while walking toward the couch. "Besides we did more than that. We go swimming too and we also have a good time together," Ellie st on the couch and look at him. "Anyway, since we can't do anything outside, I have just the thing to entertaining ourselves for a while."

Joel looked at her with worried eyes. "I don't know why I am so afraid to ask what you mean by that."

"Ellie smiled at him. "Don't worry you are going to like it."


	14. Games and Feelings

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Joel and Ellie are passing the time in the house as Ellie was going to stay there for the night. They try to entertain themselves, but something new is going to happen in those hours of companionship.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I do not own any character of (The Last of Us) TLOU is owned by Naughty Dog and their creators.
> 
> A/N: I want to thank you for the good response to the last chapter. It is a surprise to me how many people like this story. Thank you for your support and stay safe out there.

**Chapter 14: Games and Feelings**

( Two hours later )

"Ellie, we have been playing this thing for two hours when is it going to end?" Joel starts to complain while looking at Ellie making her move.

"Chill out dude, have you ever played monopoly before?" Asked Ellie while she plays with the dice. Since Joel doesn't have any Tv at home, Ellie brings a small monopoly version inside her back.

"Yes, I did... when I was a kid. And if you didn't notice I am not one anymore."

Ellie up her head and look at him. "Why do you always complain when I'm winning? Besides this game is not just for kids, so stop you winning and let me think." Say Ellie while looking at the bord now.

Joel was getting inpatient. He knows that Ellie only wants to play to not get bored. So he starts to think that maybe buying a tv will be a good idea. "Just make you move, you're been looking at the board for the last 10 minutes."

Ellie grabs her place and thinks about her choices. I can move if you continue interrupting me. When they start the game Ellie picks the little dog because she always wanted one, but as she and her aunt move a lot she can't have one. Joel picked up the hat. He said that he wanted to feel like the monopoly guy, but right now he was almost bankrupt. Even though they're so many versions of monopoly these days, Ellie just has that classic one. Her aunt gave it to her for Christmas when she was ten but she barely played with it.

Ellie moves her piece and lands on the RailRoad. "Okay I'm going to buy that one too," Ellie grabbed her money and put the amount on the back. then grabbed the utility pile and looked for the card.

Joel rolled his eyes. "Really? Because you already buy everything else," Joel says in a mocking way. They were playing the game for two hours. Sitting on the floor in front of the fireplace and listening to the rain that still fell outside.

Ellie found the card and put it on her pile of property, then looked back at Joel. "That is the point of the game Joel. get all the property and bankrupt the other players."

"Yeah I know that, but I think that you're cheating again."

Ellie rolled her eyes. "Yeah, I always cheat when I'm winning," said Ellie while offering the dice to Joel. "Just rolled the dice... is your turn now." When Ellie was passing the dice to Joel. She touched his hand. The time seemed to stop when they're touching hands. Ellie starts feeling something strange again. It is something she has been feeling every time Joel touched her. Ellie stays staring at his hand until a sound takes her out of the trance. Both of them turned their hands apart and looked in the kitchen direction. "Is that your phone?"

"I think so, but I don't know who can be calling me? I just bought the phone last week." Joel stands up with some difficulty after sitting on the floor for too long. Joel walked toward a table that was close to the kitchen. He grabbed the phone and pressed the answer button. "Hello, who is calling?"

" _Is this the number of Joel Miller?"_ answer the man on the phone.

"Yes, he is the one speaking. Who are you and how you get this number?''

" _Oh sorry, my name is Malcolm… Malcolm Smith. The owner of the hardware store gives me this number. He says that you do some handiwork and work with construction... Is that true?"_

"Yeah, it is. But my license expired a few years ago, so I need to get a new one. I can still do some small jobs if you don't mind that."

" _Oh it's okay, I don't have any problem with that. I just need some help fixing a fence and barn. So you don't need a license for that. Can you do that kind of work?"_

"Sure, no problem. Of course, but I will need to see it first and check what you need to buy to fix it."

Ellie watches Joel walk inside the kitchen and grab a notebook and start to write on it. She stood up and walked close to him and waited for him to finish the call. "Who was it?" She asked soon after he ended the call.

"Some man called Malcolm. Do you know him?" he asked while putting down the notebook on the kitchen counter.

"I don't remember hearing that name before. Why is he calling you?"

"A job," Joel said with a surprised tone. "He wants me to go to his house tomorrow and check a few things he needs to get fixed."

"Oh wow, that is so cool Joel. You have your first job here," said Ellie a little excited.

"Yeah, I haven't done that in a long time. I mean to do carpenter work for others, and not just for me."

"Well, that is great. I mean you have some work to do now." Ellie moves to the other side of the counter and hugs him. She doesn't need to do that but is a good excuse to be close to him. But no matter what, she was happy for him. But at the same time, she fell a little sad too. School is going to start soon and with him having a job now, it is going to be hard to see each other.

Joel fell and her arm on his back got tightened. "Hey kiddo, is okay is just a job I am not going to die or anything you know."

"Yeah, but you're not going to be here much now and school starts soon too… So I'm not going to be able to see you much."

Joel laughed a little at that. "Don't worry kiddo, we will see each other," he said while hugging her back. After a few minutes, he let go of her. "Do you want to finish the game or do you want to eat something?"

"I want to eat something. But this time I will help you with the cooking. And If you need help with the work, I can come here after school or on the weekends and help you out."

"I think I will be fine, but thanks for the offer," he says with a smile. How this girl changed him so much. Two months ago he just wanted to be left alone with the sorrow and pain.

And now this girl is giving him a fresh start and a way to move on. After they have lunch, they go back to the game but in the end, Ellie won again.

( Two hours later )

As the rain continues there's nothing more they can do on the house to entertain themselves. Ellie wished that Joel would have a Tv, so that way they could sit on the couch and watch a few movies together. She really will love that very much. She imagined sitting beside him with their arms intertwined together and her head laying on his shoulder.

But sadly that was not the case. Joel doesn't have any tv and now he doesn't want to play any more games either. A few minutes after the game ends, Joel told Ellie that he needed to go to his room and look for something. So before he went, Ellie asked for his phone number. Joel told her to grab his phone and look for the number there because he doesn't know it yet by memory.

So when he goes to his room Ellie grabs the phone and starts to check it out. The phone was a prepaid one, and very modern. So it does not have any apps or other things the latest phone version has. She doesn't know why he bought such a cheap phone. It looks like it is only for making phone calls and nothing more. As she opens the setting menu, Ellie remembers that Joel told her that he doesn't like sophisticated phones or getting calls from people he doesn't know. _Why doesn't he like phones? On these days you need one for everything, even for an emergency._

Soon Ellie finds the phone number, she looks at her phone and writes the number on her contacts. After writing the number she doesn't know if putting his name there is a good idea. Even though her aunt never touches her phone, she does not want to take that risk. The last thing she wants is her aunt asking about him if she saw his name on her phone. So she decided to put a nickname instead. But what name can she put in there? She doesn't have too many contacts so it will be hard to hide it there. _What name can I use?_ She starts to think and after a few minutes, she gets a good one.

After she finished typing his number on her contacts, Ellie put Joel's phone on the table and she found it and walked toward Joel's room. At least the phone can get text, so she can text him later from her home.

"Joel?" Are you still here?" asked Ellie while entering his room. This is the first time she has entered his room. All the time she came to help Joel with the house with the cleaning and organizing things, he always has his room close and didn't let her enter there. As Ellie moves in, she starts to look at the things he has there. There was not much there except for the bed, a drawer, and a bed table. The rest was a few unopened boxes and some of Joel's clothes and other things lying on the floor. The room was not really a mess, but maybe that was why he didn't want her to go there. _Men_

Joel hears Ellie say his name and turned his head to look at her. "Hey, I told you before to not come in here," says Joel from a ladder in the closet, apparently looking for something. "Is it not right for a girl to enter a man's room."

Somehow, Ellie hates that Joel still thinks about her as a kid. After all the time they spend together she expects him to see her in a different way. "Why?" she asked while looking around. "You don't want me to see the mess you have here? Believe me, I've seen worse before."

"No, isn't that… is just… is not right. I can have things around that a girl should shout not… see," Joel stops talking. He doesn't want Ellie imaging things.

_Yeah because society doesn't like girls my age, be closer to a man older than her._ She says in a lower voice.

"Did you say something?"

"Nope… I just came here because you have taken too long to come out. What are you looking for anyway?"

Joel turns around and continues looking at some boxes inside the closet."Just something I brought from Texas, it's supposed to be in one of these… Ahhh I think I found

it." Joel opens the box, but it doesn't have what he was looking for.

"Do you want me to help you looking?" Ellie moved to one of the boxes that were on the other side of the bed and opened.

"No need thanks. What I am looking for is supposed to be in one of these boxes. So don't touch anything and go back to the living room…" _fuck where in the hell is that box?_ Say Joel in a lower voice.

Ellie started to check one of the boxes until she found what looked like a photo album. "What is this? She opened and started looking at the pictures. "Holy shit… is that you?" she says while watching one of the pictures. "You look like a hippie!"

Joel turned his head and looked down. He saw Ellie now sitting on his bed looking at a photo album. "Hey, I told you to not touch anything," says Joel getting down from the ladder.

Ellie ignored him and continued looking at the album photos. "Oh… wow, you look very nice in a speedo… how old were you at that time?"

Joel moves closer to her and tries to grab the album, but Ellie moves it away from him. "Just give me that… it is not polite to go through people's stuff without permission." Say Joel trying again to grab the album.

Ellie moves to the other side of the bed and away from Joel. "Ahhh… c'mon, I just want to see how you look when you're young."

"Ellie, I'm not joking… just give me the album?" Joel gets into the bed and tries to grab Ellie.

"You have to catch me first." Then she moves out of the bed and goes to the other side.

"Shit Ellie, I don't have time for this just give me the-" He jumped off the bed and tried to catch Ellie again, but she moved faster and ran out of the room. Joel ran after her and tried to grab her. "Ellie!... c'mon. I am not joking."

"If you want it? You need to do it better than that." She moves behind a chair avoiding Joel. "C'mon Joel I didn't know you're so slow."

Joel tried to grab her again, but she dodges him and ran toward the bedroom again. Since it is still raining, she can go outside, so she needs to stay away from Joel inside the house. "Come back here… you little-" Ellie jumps into the bed but before she gets to the other side, Joel grabs one of her feet and makes her fall on top of the bed. "Got you!"

Ellie tried to get her leg away from Joel's grip, but Joel just pulled her toward him while he moved on top of the bed and ended on top of her. Ellie continued to get away from him, but Joel held her legs with his and grabbed her arms, and pin her on the top of the bed.

Ellie still has the album in her hand but keeps it from Joel. "Stop struggling, you don't have anywhere to go now." Joel pushed her arm over her head and moved his body closer to hers. "You can't overrun a Miller. Now surrender and give me the album."

"Never…" Say Ellie while still holding the album in her hands.

"Oh… you will." Joel grabbed her arms with one hand and moved the other to her side and started tickling her.

Ellie tries to hold her laugh the best she could, but after a few minutes, she can't hold any longer. "Ohhh… that... is... cheating... stop… please!" she says between laugh.

"I won't until you give me back the album and give up," he says while continuing tickling her.

"Never!" said Ellie while trying to get away from his grab.

Joel moves his hand to her belly and tickles her there. That makes Ellie move her body more while laughing. After a few more minutes, Joel saw that Ellie was not going to hold for long, so he moved his head closer to her face and smiled. "Are you ready to give up?"

"Yes... yes… now… please stop!" Ellie drops the album to the floor while trying to contain her laugh/ Joel stops ticking her.

Joel stares at her face and watches how she tries to get more air to her lungs. He can feel her body moving below him. Ellie stopped her laugh and looked at his face trying to figure out what he was thinking.

Ellie can feel his body on top of her. His face was so close to hers that she could feel his hot breath. She has been close to him before but not like this and not on the top of his bed. Her heart was starting to beat faster now. Having his body on top of her feels so good that she has the impulse to… kiss him.

Joel stares at Ellie's face, not knowing what is happening to him. He can feel her body beneath him and Something was telling him to move away from her, even if another part of him didn't want to. _What is wrong with you dude, she is only 16, do you want to go to jail pervert?_ He can feel his dick getting harder as his body was literally on top of her. His lower part was between her legs and his hard dick was on top of her private parts. Joel feels how Ellie's legs start to move apart, making his body touch her more.

He felt the impulse to kiss her right there. She was so beautiful and her lips looked like calling him to move down and kiss her. And even though he won't be with a woman in a long time, he can't do that to Ellie. She is still a minor and a friend, so that wasn't right. So Joel does what he has to do and starts to move away from her. "I'm so sorry… I...I need to do something... outside." Joel moved away from the bed and walked out of the room fast.

Ellie gets on her elbow and watches him go out, then she just lay back, puts one arm on her eyes, and takes a deep breath. _Fuck… what was that? Why do I feel like I'm on fire on the inside?_

After what happens in Joel's room. Joel went out of the house and walked to the little shed he fixed behind the house. At first, he wanted to use it for his truck but later decided to use it as his workshop. There he put his work tools and the wood planks he used to repair the house. Lucky for him the rain stopped before he got out, so he didn't get wet before he got inside the shed. Joel needed some time to be alone after what happened in his room. So after he makes sure that Ellie didn't follow him, he started to curse himself for being so stupid and lets all that happen. Of course, nothing happens physically, but he knows that something inside of him wanted to kiss her.

How can he feel those things for her? That is not right and he knew it. Joel needed to do something to distract himself. Because for some reason he can't get Ellie out of his mind. So he grabs his tools and starts to work there for one hour. Lucky for him, Ellie never showed up. Joel thought that she just went home after what happened, but when he went back inside. He saw Ellie sitting on the couch reading a book like nothing happened. He looks at her and says nothing. Then he starts to walk toward his room when he hears Ellie talking to him.

"Is everything alright? Where did you go?" Ellie started to ask while putting the book down.

Joel turned and looked at her. "Sorry that I left like that, but I need to go to the shed to check on

something." He says hoping that she doesn't ask more questions.

"For one hour?"

Yeah, there was something I needed to finish… sorry that it took so long. Hope you don't get bored too much."

"Oh… is okay. I bring a book with me just in case. But since you're back, do you want to do something to pass the time?"

Joel looked at her with curious eyes. How can Ellie be that calm after what happens? He practically touched her. No one purpose but she should be thinking something bad about him now. "Yeah, we… can play some cards if you want… but first I need to go back to my room… and find what I was looking for."

Ellie wanted to offer her help but it was better to not push things up. She knew that Joel didn't feel right after what happened in his room. "Okay, I will stay here this time and read until you come back."

Right, now she will think I'm a pervert. "Okay... I won't take long." then he turned and walked to his room and closed the door.

It takes half an hour before he gets out of the room. Joel tried to keep himself distracted while doing a few things in the house. After that, they played a little card game until it started to get dark outside. The Joel ask Ellie if she was hungry and after she said that she was starving Joel go to the kitchen and start to prepare the dinner.

( A few hours Later )

After they had dinner, both of them sat in front of the fireplace for a while. Ellie doesn't know what to do or say, Joel has been acting weird since the incident in his room. She doesn't know why he was acting like that, except maybe he has felt bad for being on top of her like that. They barely talked during the card game or the dinner, except for a basic conversation. Ellie doesn't think anything bad about Joel, on the contrary, she would like it if he kisses her right there. Ellie needs to do something so Joel doesn't feel bad about what happens. Because they didn't do anything wrong, they were just playing around. "Hey.. did you find what you're looking for?" asked Ellie to break the ice.

"Ummm?" Joel Look at her with clueless eyes.

"I say if you find what you were looking for in your room?" she asked again.

"Ohh… yes, I did. Holy shi- I almost forgot about that. that, I will be right back," he stood up and walked toward his room again. He came back a few minutes later with a shoebox in his hands. "Here, this is for you," says Joel passing the box to her.

Ellie smiled a little. "For me!... really?! Oh, Joel, I don't know what to say," she said looking at the box. What is it? And why you give this to me, is not my birthday."

"Well, there doesn't have to be your birth to receive a gift. Think of it as an early present. It is nothing really, just something I have for alone time and I wanted you to have it. I think that you can give them better use than me. Besides, you have been helping me a lot with the house, for the last two month so I just want to give you something in return."

"Ahhh Joel Thank you, but you don't need to give anything. You already pay me for my work and you even give me more than I can ask for."

"Is okay Ellie, is not a big deal… just opened," he said sitting back to the chair in front of the fireplace.

Ellie looked at him and smiled. She was happy that Joel seems to be back to normal since they don't talk much about anything for hours. Ellie opened the box and her eyes went wider soon she saw what it was in there. "Oh my god… Joel… this is amazing… thank you." It was a collection of CDs from the 80s including some country music CDs. She has some on her house but not these ones. The ones Joel gave her were harder to find.

"I'm glad you like them. I keep them in good condition all this time, but I know that you will take good care of them."

Ellie wants to stand up and go to him and hug him or kiss him, but after what happened before, it was better to hold herself at least for now. But somehow she is going to give him something in return for this. "Thanks, Joel, this was very nice of you."

"Yeah sure, you deserve it. anyway, I will go to take a shower and go to bed after that." He got up from the chair and started to walk away.

Ellie put the box to the side and looked at him. "It is too early to go to sleep. So can we do something before that? We can do another card game or something?"

Joel stops and turns around. "Sorry, kiddo but I have to take you home first thing in the morning. Remember that I have to go to check that job. I will bring you the stuff for you to sleep okay?" Yeah, it was early to go to bed, but somehow he just wanted to keep his mind away from her.

Ellie does not want to sleep, she wants to spend more time with him. School summer is almost over and she knows that she is not going to be able to see him as much as she would like. Ellie watched Joel walking away, but before he went away she wanted to ask him something.


	15. Nightmares and Dreams

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ellie was expending the weekend with Joel, but now that she was going to stay for the night she starts to get to close to him. There things she don't know about him, but she is willing to find out.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I do not own any character of (The Last of Us) TLOU is owned by Naughty Dog and their creators.
> 
> Warning: This chapter contains some sexual parts on it, so I put a sign on the chapter where that part starts just in case people wanted to avoid it. It is not much, so the rest of the chapter still T.
> 
> A/N: There are only 2 chapters left after this one, so I want to thanks again the people that are supporting this by reading it. I', glad that this little story goes so well and that some people like it. Thanks for the ones that are putting a constant review in all chapters and I hope to receive more in the future. so now let continue with the story.

**Chapter 15: Nightmares and Dreams**

Ellie wants to ask him so many things about what is happening between them. But she doesn't want to ruin the perfect weekend they have together. So maybe she asked him later, but for now, it was better to only ask the less important question she can think of. "Joel!"

"Yes?" replay Joel turning his head around.

"Can you tell me when your birthday is?" she asked with a shy tone.

Joel looked at her with curiosity. "Why do you want to know that?"

Ellie started to play with her hands. That is not what she really wanted to ask him, but maybe it is good to know when his birthday is. "I don't know… maybe I can give you a gift that day or bring you a cake or something."

Joel was a little surprised. He was expecting her to ask something more controversial, but his birthday? "Ellie you don't have to do that. I haven't celebrated that in a long time, it is just a regular day for me."

"I know that that is not my business. Some people don't like to say when their birthday is. But I still like to know... My birthday is on February 5, and I will be 17 that day." Joel looked at her for a moment. Knowing her birthday and the reminder that she is only 16 is making him feel bad. She is a minor and he is not supposed to be feeling anything about her.

"Okay, thanks for letting me know…" Joel thought for a moment on what to say and after a minute he decided to tell her. Maybe it was good to remind her that he is old. "Mine is on September 26 and I will be 41. Now if you don't have any more questions? I will go to the bathroom and take a shower. Are you going to take one? Because you can go first if you like."

"No, it's okay, I can take mine after you."

"Okay. Then I will bring you sleeping things after I get out," said Joel, turning around and walking toward his bedroom, to get his sleeping clothes.

"Okay, thank you for letting me know," said Ellie while watching him go away. Then she starts to check the CDs Joel gave her.

( One hour later )

After Joel takes his shower he goes to his room. Soon Ellie got out of hers, Joel came back to the living room with a pillow and a blanket. He wants to offer her his bed again but is going to feel wrong after what happened before. Soon he got to the living room, Ellie was sitting on the couch with a book in her hand. Joel looked at her and noticed that she was wearing a long t-shirt that covered her to her knees. He looks at her naked legs, but after what happens before he just shakes his head and tries to get that out of his mind. "Here you go kiddo," says Joel as soon he gets close to her.

Ellie looked at him and put the book to the side and grabbed the pillow and the blanket. She put them on the couch beside her. "Thank you, Joel."

Joel looked at her for a moment. "Are you sure it is okay for you to sleep here?" Even if he doesn't like the idea of her sleeping in his room, he offers her the option anyway. "You can still take the room if you like."

"Is okay Joel, I slept well here last time, besides you need you to rest if you have work to do tomorrow." unless we can sleep together in your bed, that will be wonderful. Say Ellie to herself.

"Okay. Then… Good night kiddo. I will take you back home before I go to check that job… okay?" he started to turn around but Ellie stopped him.

"Joel, can you stop calling me that? I am not a kid anymore," she said with a frustrated tone.

Joel turned around and looked at her. "Sorry, it is a bad habit."

"Is not that bad, but it makes me feel like a little kid, and I'm not." Ellie feels sorry after saying that to him, but it was true. That word makes her feel like a little kid and the last thing she wants is him to see her as a kid. She wants him to see her like a woman, a woman that has feelings for him. "Are you sure you want to go to sleep? It is only 8:00 pm, we can just sit here and talk if you like."

Joel looks at her for a moment. The lower light that comes from the fireplace makes her look so beautiful., But he needs to stop thinking about her like that. She is only 16 so that is wrong and sick. Ellie is still a minor and a friend, so he needs to stop it. Joel thought that it was better to leave things the way they are. He can't let himself get too close to her, more than he already is, that will end badly for both of them.

"Sorry ki-I mean Ellie, I'm a little tired and you're right I have work to do tomorrow, so it is better if we just go to bed- mean go to sleep… no, I mean you here and me-" He starts to speak in a nervous way.

Ellie smiled a little at that. "Is okay Joel I get it… we can talk another time is not a big deal."

"Okay then... good night Ellie."

"Good night Joel… and thank you… you know for everything."

"Sure… have a good sleep." then he turned around and walked out of the living room towards his room.

Soon Ellie hears his door close, she looks at the fire and takes a deep breath. Oh man, what am I going to do now? I like him a lot… no, I think I'm in love… I can't stop thinking about him even when I'm at home. And after what happened in his bed… I know it was just an innocent thing, but feel his body on top of me… I don't know what to do.

( Back to Joel )

Soon Joel enters his room and closes the door, he leans back on it and closes his eyes. I need to keep Ellie out of my mind in that way. She is just a kid, so I don't know what is wrong with me. I feel like a pervert, every time I look at her body or think how beautiful she is.

A few minutes Joel walked to the other side of the bed and saw the album on the floor. After what happened, he forgot about that. Joel picked it up and looked at it. He does not remember packing any album when he moved out of Texas. He has a small one with some pictures of him and his wife before they married when to shit. But he threw that one away before he left the house.

But Ellie mentions that he looks young in the pictures, so It has to be an old one. Joel sat on the bed and opened the album. He starts to look at the pictures. Yeah, it was an old one when he and Tommy were kids. It must be his father's album, but he does not remember having this, someone else has to put it in his things.

Joel continued looking at the picture. They were good memories of Tommy and him when they had a family. But all that changes when their mother dies and their father has to take care of them. He closed the album and put it on the table close to the bed. How that thing gets here, Tommy must put it on his thing when their grandfather dies. He packs his things after the funeral, so he must put it on when they have to go to the testament hearing. Joel lay on the bed and looked at the ceiling. Does he start to wonder why his grandfather left him this house? They never were close, and they fought a lot, the same with Tommy. Yeah, he made a lot of mistakes in the past and that cost him his daughter. Yeah, maybe the death of his daughter was his fault, but after he learned what his wife did, ended their marriage it wasn't. So Joel closes his eyes and tries to sleep.

( Back to Ellie )

Outside the room, Ellie was lying on the couch, the house was all dark by now, except for the living room that was illuminated by the fireplace. It was raining again but not as bad as before. Ellie was looking at some pictures on her phone. She stopped on the picture of Joel and her on the cliff. She was in her bikini and he was in his shorts. She smiled at how happy they looked together, that was a great day for them. Ellie looked at the picture for a long moment and then closed her eyes. She can't stop thinking about him and how good it feels having him that close. Ellie started to think about the cabin too and how happy she felt when they were sleeping together. Ellie smiled at the happy memory and left herself falling asleep on that.

**(Warning: This part has a little smutty on it, is not much but as I promise someone to put a warning I'm putting this. So if anyone that is reading this doesn't want to read things like that, you can pass this part. I will write another note at the end of this. So that way you can read the chapter even if you don't like that part. Thank you for reading.)**

The rain was falling hard, and Ellie could hear the thunder in the distance. She opens her eyes and starts looking around. The place was a little dark, only a little light from a fireplace illuminated the place, but it didn't look like the one in Joel's house. She moved up and noticed that she was on top of a blanket on the floor and not on the couch. Where the hell am I? It doesn't look like I'm in Joel's living room, it looks more like...

"Are you okay kiddo?" Did the thunder wake you up?"

Ellie looked toward the familiar voice and saw Joel in front of the window looking at her. "Joel?"

"Yes… who else do you think it was?" he asked sarcastically.

Ellie stood up from the floor and walked toward him. "Where are we? This doesn't look like your

house?" Ellie asked.

Joel looked at her with clueless eyes. "You mean the old house? Wow… you must have a back to the past dream. Come here, I can bring you back to the present," Joel moves close to her, grabs her face and gives her passionate kiss.

Ellie doesn't know what is happening but feels Joel's lips on hers feel so good and exciting. She wanted him to do that for a long time, so she is not sure if this is real or just a dream? But if it is a dream, she doesn't want to wake up. She felt Joel deepened the kiss and tried to introduce his tongue inside her mouth. Ellie never kissed a boy before, at least not like this. But this feels so good and natural that she doesn't want to stop. So she just opens her mouth a little and lets him in. Oh man, this is the best thing that has happened to her in a long time. After dreaming a few times about Joel and her together, this one is the best.

"You make me worry a little bit there, I almost thought that you're expecting someone else," said Joel after moving apart from the kiss.

Ellie looked at him not knowing what he was talking about. But that kiss was incredible and she wanted more. So she will continue with this, whatever it is. "I never have eyes for anyone else, it has always been you. I don't know what this is exactly but I want you to know that… I love you."

Joel smiled at that. "Ahhhh is good to hear that my love. Sorry, I didn't tell you this a lot but I love you too. So are you ready for another round? Or do you need more time to rest after the last one?" They are still holding together in a hug.

But she doesn't want to be away from him. If this is a dream she wants to enjoy it as much as she can. Ellie looked at him cluelessly on what he was talking about. "Another round? Another round of what?"

"Let me remind you," Joel moved in again and kissed her, deeper this time. All Ellie questions ended right there, all she wanted now is for Joel to continue. Ellie moved her hands behind Joel's neck and kissed him back. This was a long wait for her, and feeling Joel's mouth eating hers feels so good.

Ellie feels Joel's arm around her waist, pulling her closer to him. She can feel his body complete like he doesn't have any clothes on him. She wanted to look at him, look at his naked body, the one she saw before in the cabin when he was drying himself with the towel. She only saw him from the back, but that opened a lot of imagination. But Joel moves away from her mouth and goes to her neck. The feeling was incredible, something that she never experienced before and she did not want him to stop. "Ahhhh… Joel this feels so good," she said in a lower voice.

"I'm glad you like it, my love, I have been waiting for this for so long and now that we're together I just want to make you happy." Say Joel while continuing with the kissing.

"I have been... waiting for this too... Ahhhh... since I... met you," said Ellie moaning now. I love you, Joel… and I... want to be yours… forever."

"You already have me… my love," he moved to her mouth again and kissed her.

Ellie feels different. She feels now like an adult, she feels loved, really loved for the first time and she likes it. This felt better than any of the dreams she had before or some of the romance novels she read some times when she goes to bed. The hotties from their bodies together felt good, but she wanted more. "I need you, I want you inside of me… I want you to make love to me… please!" she says while Joel goes back to her neck and kisses it.

Joel stops the kisses and looks at her with a smile on his face. "Your wishes are my command, princess," Joel starts to kiss her again while moving her down into the blanket on the floor. Soon they were down Joel started to touch her naked body.

Ellie starts to giggle a little. "Princess? That is new."

Joel started to pass one hand on her side slowly. "Ahhh… but you are my princess and I'm here to give you your happy ending."

Ellie doesn't remember taking her clothes out or having any before, but right now she doesn't care. The only thing inside her mind is Joel and her making love.

Ellie's naked body was laying on the blanket. She can feel Joel's body almost on top of her. He was kissing her neck again, sucking her skin and that feels good. Joel moves his hand and grabs one of her breaths and squeezed a little. Ellie closes her eyes and enjoys the feeling she was having right now. She had never been touched like this before or be naked with anyone, less with a man. But she doesn't feel like a teenager anymore, she feels like a woman and she likes it.

Ellie feels Joel moving his kisses down her chest until he gets to one of her breasts. She can feel Joel passing his tongue on her hard nipple. "Oh you have such delicious breaths, it makes me want to suck it like a baby," said Joel, while continuing to circulate her nipple with his tongue. After a few minutes, he started to suck them too, making Ellie arched her body up at the sensation. She was a virgin, so this was new for her, but for some reason, this feels familiar to her, like she has done it before.

Joel moved his mouth to her other breast, giving her the same treatment. After a few minutes, he moves his mouth away and moves up until his face is in front of hers. "Does this make you feel good?" He looked at her in the eyes waiting for an answer. "Does this refresh your memory?"

Ellie doesn't know what to say, she doesn't remember doing anything like this before, not even in her deeper sexy dream that she has about Joel. But on those Joel and she just makes out and has a little touching here and there, but they never have been naked or go far on the touching.

But this time it feels different, feels more real and maybe the reason for that is because she saw part of Joel's naked body before. She has tried no to think about that, but it seems that it is not working. Because having this dream with him right now is proof that all that is still in her mind. Yeah, maybe this was a dream, but she is going to enjoy it as much as she can. "Yeah… this feels great… please don't… stop," she finally answered with a smile on her face. "But I want more… my king…" I want you to make me yours. I want my happy ending."

Joel smiled at her. "I'm so glad that you like it, but that was just a little taste… my love," He leaned down and kissed her. After a minute he moved his head away. "I love you, Ellie, you change my life so much and I don't know how I will be able to repay you for that."

Ellie looked at him. "You can by make me yours," she said with all her love showing on her face. "You can give me a happy ending."

Joel smiled at her. "I will give you everything… I will make you the happiest woman in this world. I promise you that."

"That is good Joel, but right now I just need your to love me… and your body inside of me," she giggled a little in the last part.

"I will make you wish come true... my princess," The Joel moved one hand down her chest until he found her lower part. Slowly he starts to rub his fingers on her entrance. And that gives Ellie a sensation she never had before. Yeah, she touched herself a few times, but those times don't feel as good as this.

Ellie was moaning in no time, feeling Joel's touch was so good right now and she wanted more. "Ohhh… God… Joel… I want-Ahhhh…" Ellie arched her body up when Joel introduced two fingers inside of her. "Ohhhhh… god…" Ellie closes her eyes and moans more as Joel continues moving his finger faster now.

Joel moved his head up until it was in front of her face. "I want you to come… I will give you all the pleasure you want," says Joel Joel while he continues moving his finger inside of her. "I will give you all my love," He was moving his fingers faster and deeper now. "If you stay with me forever."

Ellie opens her eyes and looks at him. "I will stay with you forever Joel…" she was breathing faster now. "Just… make me... come…" Ellie looked at his eyes and saw the same love that she felt for him. How all this can be possible? She was only 16 but she didn't care. Anyway, this was her dream, her fantasy. A fantasy that she wanted to be real, but she knows that all that can't be true, they can't be together like this… or they can? Ellie moves her hand and grabs Joel's face.

"I love you Joel and you don't even know how much."

Joel smiled at her. I love you too Ellie. And you don't know how much."

"Proved!"

Joel smiles at her again and lowers his head. He grabs her mouth with his and starts kissing her as passionately as he can. Their tongues were dancing together inside her mouth. While his fingers were moving faster inside of her. It only took a few more minutes to feel her scream on his mouth as she came. As she finishes, Joel moves his head away from her and looks at her face. She was panting fast and he also can feel his own heart beating as fast as her. "Did you like it?"

Ellie tries to calm down before speaking. "If I like it? Oh man, I love it… this was the best."

"I'm glad that it was good for you… but that was just the first round."

Ellie put her hands on Joel's shoulder. "Oh… that good. Because I was happy to see what was next and-" Ellie stopped as soon she saw the ring on her finger. "Oh my God… Are we married?" that was the last thing she said before all started to get black and Joel disappear in front of her.

**( End of the sex part. )**

Ellie wakes up from her dream, she felt a little disappointed. But she felt something hew between her legs and when she moved her hands down there she feels that her panties were a little wet. Ellie leans up on the couch and moves the blanked off. Oh...my...god… did I... I pee in my dream…? Ellie starts to look around making sure that she was alone in the room. She felt so embarrassed, because that never happened before to her, not even in her room. She needs to go to the bathroom and change. Ellie was hoping that Joel doesn't find out about what just happens on his couch. So Ellie stood up from the couch and looked at it. She was lucky that the couch was not wet.

Okay, Ellie, you need to change your underwear and wash it and pry that Joel doesn't wake up. It is still night and raining so he will still be sleeping on his bed. Ellie grabbed her backpack and walked toward the bathroom. Soon she was in front of the bathroom, she hears some mumble coming from Joel's room. Did Joel talk in his sleep? She gets curious and gets close to his door. She leaned closer and put her ear on the door.

Oh… Sarah… I'm so sorry… You were going to change... everything… but you do not even have a chance to do it.

Ellie hears Joel said with a sad voice. Is he talking to himself or is he just dreaming?

I am so sorry… baby... it was… all my fault... I should know that something was wrong… It was all my fault.

Ellie moves her head from the door and stays looking at it. "What is he talking about? And who is Sarah?"

( Half an hour Early )

Before Joel fell asleep, he was trying not to think much about what happened with Ellie on his bed. Because that does not mean anything. Yeah, he was chasing her around the house after she grabbed the album. Because he thought that it contained pictures that he didn't want her to see, but now he knows that that album was gone by now. He wants to forget his past, but as much as he tries he can't. He only has a few pictures of his baby daughter, but he has those elsewhere. All happening so fast that he does even have time to take more.

Being with Ellie was making him forget for a time, but the pain was still there. Joel doesn't know what to think about both of them ending up on his bed, but he is sure that it wasn't good. Yeah, Ellie was making him forget his past, but she is also was waking up something else in him. Something he is not supposed to feel for her. As much as he tried, his mind didn't let him sleep. Joel is trying to forget what happened today, but his mind is making him go to another place. A place he doesn't want to go again.

( 12 years ago )

Joel was in the hospital a few weeks after his wife gave birth to his baby daughter.

"What the hell are you talking about? You told me a few days ago that she was going to be okay. That after two weeks in the incubation, she was responding well to the treatment and that she will be out of the incubation after one month." said Joel with a furious tone.

The doctor put his hand together and looked at him. "Yes, she was responding well to the treatment and we were hoping for the best," the doctor lowered his head. Then he looked back at Joel with a sad expression. "I'm so sorry Mr. Miller but her last analysis showed them something new and is not good." said the doctor standing up from his chair and walking to the wall where he has some x-ray on it. "If you can see here, her longs are showing some complications. Now, they are supposed to be more developed, because she is only a month early, but they are not.

Joel stood up from his chair and stood beside him. "I don't see what the problem is. You already told me all this, and you said that she was doing fine, so what is happening now?"

"Yeah she was, but somehow her lungs are not responding now as they were supposed to. I am consulting with other doctors and a few specialists about your daughter's case. But they all conclude that her condition is beyond fixing, so there is nothing they can do to save her. Even if we keep her intubated and connected to a machine, her fragile body is not going to resist for long."

"What about an implant? Can you not operate on her and fix her lungs or get a replacement?"

"Sorry Mr. Miller, but things got too complicated and her small body is not going to support any operation," he turned around to look at Joel. "I'm so sorry, but there is nothing we can do at this point. Even if we find a donor her survival chance is only 10% and no doctor is going to operate with that kind of chance."

Joel's face goes into a furious expression. "So is there nothing you can do? That is what you are telling me?" Joel moves closer to the doctor and looks at his face. My daughter is going to die and you want me to accept that?" Joel moved away from him and started to walk around the room with his hand on his head. He just wants to hit something, turn this office outside down, just to take his pain away. His daughter is going to die and there is nothing he can do about it. After a few minutes, Joel stops and looks back at the doctor. "Maybe we can take her to another hospital or find another doctor? One that could do something… something better than sit in an office and do nothing."

"I understand your pain Mr. Miller, but moving her now is not going to change anything. We already consulted the best doctors we could find and all of them came to the same conclusion.

I'm so sorry that we can't do more, but she has a few weeks left, so I recommend that you and your wife be ready for that. I'm so sorry that we can't do more, but we already try everything."

Joel walks toward the door and opens, then looks back at the doctor. "You don't know anything about our pain. You're not the one that is going to lose a daughter before I even have the chance to hold her.'' With that, he walked out of the room slamming the door hard and walked away.

His daughter was born a month earlier than she was supposed to. All happens, when his wife suffered a hard pain when he was at his work. The ambulance took too much time to arrive at the house and that complicated things for her. After she was taken to the hospital she got examined and they found that the baby had some complications. So the Doctor determines that they need to get the baby out or both of them are going to die. Soon Joel arrives at the hospital after he received the call, they explain the situation to him and ask him permission to do the operation. He needed to decide as the situation was risky for both of them. They told him that the baby and his wife have a better chance to survive if they do the operation.

So after he goes to the hospital church and prays, he gives the okay to the operation. But after two weeks things went bad and he never recovered from that. After his daughter died, Joel blamed himself, and that took him to a place where he thought it would take his pain away. With time, the drinking cost him his job and his marriage, and even after all that his pain never goes away.

( Back to the present )

Joel was moving on his bed trying to shake off his nightmare. The ones that have been haunting him since his daughter died. He thought that coming here and trying to start a new life was going to change things. But even though Ellie has been a good distraction, he never gets to forget that somehow his daughter was his fault.

Joel opens his eyes and looks at the ceiling. The room was dark, but it didn't matter, he just looked at the ceiling and left the words out. Oh… Sarah… I'm so sorry… You were going to change... everything… You're going to make me a better man… but you didn't even have a chance to do it. He stopped for a moment as tiers were falling down. I am so sorry… baby... it was… all my fault... I should know that something was wrong… It was all my fault.


	16. Getting too Close

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Joel and Ellie were spending too much time together, so Joel is starting to notice that he was getting close to her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I do not own any character of (The Last of Us) TLOU is owned by Naughty Dog and their creators.
> 
> A/N: Hi, only one chapter left after this one. I want to thank you to all the people that are reading this for your support. Thanks for the review and follow/favorite I always appreciate those. I hope for all of you to be safe at home and I hope that we pass this pandemic soon.

**Chapter 16: Getting too close**

Ellie was feeling sad after hear Joel talking in his room about something that seems painful to him. But she didn't know what to do about that, at least not for now. So after a few minutes standing in front of his door, she decided to walk to the bathroom and take care of her immediate problem.

Ellie was looking at herself in the bathroom mirror, trying to shake off what happened in the living room. She already cleaned herself and washed her panties and put them on her backpack. Shit.. why does this have to happen today? What Joel is going to think if he finds out what happened? She said to her reflection on the mirror. She felt so embarrassed, after having a wet dream in Joel's house. Yeah, she had some dreams about Joel before but never like this, so why now?

Ellie closes her eyes and stays there for a few minutes. After taking a good deep breath she grabbed her backpack and opened the door. It was still dark so it was better to go back to sleep, that is if she can get some sleep after that. The last thing she needs is to go back to that dream and end the same way as before. After she gets out of the bathroom Ellie looks at Joel's room. The door is still closed and the light out, so that means that Joel is probably still sleeping. What she heard before, seems very painful to him. Ellie was curious now on knowing who this Sarah is.

It has to be someone important to him to cause those nightmares. Maybe it was his wife, he mentioned before that he was married and didn't work out. But even though he didn't want to talk about that, the mention of his wife did not seem to affect him that much. Maybe I can ask him later, but I don't really want him to feel bad if that causes him some pain. After a few minutes there, Ellie walked back to the living room and sat on the couch. The fire was out by now and the rain outside seemed to stop too. So Ellie put the backpack on the floor beside the couch and lay down.

Ellie grabbed her phone again and opened the pictures app. She searched for the picture she took on the lake. She takes a lot of them, not only at the view but also some of Joel and her. She looks at one of her and Joel together, not the sexy one but one they pose on the shore of the lake with the forest in the background. They look happy together in the picture, and that makes her feel good. Ellie closes her eyes and starts to think about these two months and how happy she feels. Joel makes her happy, as happy as she never felt before. But what is she going to do now? She is in love with him no doubt of that now, but there is nothing she can do about it… or is it? After thinking for a while Ellie finally falls asleep.

( Later in the Morning )

Joel woke up with some dry tears in his eyes and started to remember why. He has been having those nightmares for years, but they stop when he meets Ellie. See that album so how to bring them back even if he doesn't have any photos of her there. But maybe now that he has some work to do, he can keep those feelings down again.

Joel sat on the edge of the bed and put his hands on his face. He tries to clear his mind for those bad memories, but when he does his mind comes back to Ellies. The whole weekend flashback in his mind, and somehow it feels good. Spending these two months with Ellie has changed his life a little. But what he is going to do about that, he can't let this girl get to close him, no in that way. Yes, she makes him feel good and happy and every time they spend together she makes him forget. But getting too close to her is not going to be good for either of them. He can't fall in love with her, not only because he will end up in jail, but also because he is wrong.

Joel stands up from the bed and goes to his drawer and looks for something to wear. He needs to give Ellie a ride home before he goes to that man's house and checks the job. After he finishes changing, Joel opens the door of his room and walks out. He was going directly to the bathroom when he heard some noises coming from the kitchen. He continued walking until he got to the kitchen entrance and saw Ellie there.

"Hey, what are you doing?" Say Joel as soon as he gets into the kitchen.

Ellie turned her head and looked at him and smiled. She was wearing a long shirt and shorts. Probably the clothes she uses to sleep. "Hey… Buenos… Dias," she said with some giggles. "That means good morning in Spanish if you wanted to know."

"Yeah, I know that… I did grow up in Texas remember? Are you cooking breakfast?" he asked after watching the food on the counter and Ellie working on the stove.

Ellie was standing in front of the stove checking the eggs she was preparing. "Yeah… I woke up early, so I thought it would be good if I did the cooking this time. I made some scrambled eggs with bacon and toast, I hope you like them," Ellie watched Joel's expression, never imagining his face like that. Maybe he was surprised that she was doing the cooking today, but it was the least she can do for him. Also, feel good after that dream, just as if they were married for real. "So… did you have any Mexican friends back there?" she asked, trying to stop her red face to show.

Joel walked to the fridge and opened it. He was going to grab a beer but, he thought that it was better to leave that for later. "I don't really have many friends there, but I did go to a Mexican restaurant sometimes after work. So I tried to learn a few words, so that way I can understand them better," Joel grabs the orange juice bottle and closes the door. "You don't have to do this, I was going to do it before I take you back home."

"I know, but it was the least I can do after this wonderful weekend." She took the pan with the scrambled egg and put them on a plate. Then she walks to where the toaster is and takes the bread out.

Joel grabs two clean glasses from the sink and fills them with juice. "Did you sleep well? I know that the couch is not the best place to get good sleep, but I hope that it works for you," he said walking out of the kitchen and going to the other side of the counter.

"Yeah, I sleep okay, the couch is not that bad." _but maybe next time I can sleep with you in the bed_. Said Ellie to herself. "Besides I'm small so I don't need too much space."

"That is maybe true, but I still feel bad about it." Ellie takes one plate with food and passes it to Joel. "Thanks," said Joel, grabbing the plate and put it on the counter in front of him.

"You're welcome," she grabbed hers and walked out of the kitchen and sat beside Joel on the counter. Hope you like it, I am not a good cook, at least not like you," Ellie was feeling strange, not in a bad way, but she feels like this was a natural thing to her. She will be happy to prepare Joel breakfast every day for the rest of their life if he accepts her love.

Joel grabs the fork and gets a portion of the food in his mouth. "Ummm… this is good. I think you did a good job here."

Ellie looked at him and smiled. "Really!"

"Yeah… really." he took another bite, then smiled back at her. It feels strange to have someone preparing him breakfast, no even his wife does that. His heart starts to beat faster, every time he looks at her. It was like this girl was getting into his soul and melting his heart. But he needs to keep those feelings down. "So, when school starts?" he asked while continuing to eat.

Ellie looks back to her plate and takes a bit of the food. "It starts on Wednesday. That is good because I need to fish for a project the teacher left for us to do during the summer." Ellie took another bite from her food. "But I still feel bad because the school summer ends… and I am not going to be able to come here as much as before."

"Well, that is okay. Because you need to concentrate in school and I will be doing some work now. Maybe that is a good thing you know." Joel started thinking about how close they're now. It was nice at first when he thought of her as a replacement for the daughter he lost. But after time all that changes because he is starting to feel things for Ellie that he is not supposed to. So maybe Ellie going back to school and him working again will change things back to normal. Or at least he hopes so.

"Speaking of school, maybe you can help me after class with my homework. You know, since you know some Spanish… Maybe you can help me out with my Spanish class."

"I don't know if that is a good idea. I mean maybe it is better if you do that at home and let your aunt help you. Beside my Spanish is not that good, I just know a few words and that is not going to be enough to help you."

"I don't mind coming here after school, my aunt won't come back home until 6:00 pm and I get out at 2:30 pm. That is if she doesn't have any business travel to do."

"I still think that she is the one to be helping you with that, it is her job… right?"

"Ha, she is barely at home to help me with that. Besides, I have been doing well without her help and I prefer to do it with you if you let me come here after school."

Joel notices her sad expression. "Ellie is not like I don't want you here, but you don't think that you need to spend more time with your aunt? Or at least have other friends too?" Say Joel after he finishes with his food.

Ellie looked at him, then looked away and lowered her head. "Joel you're the only friend I really want. I know that this is maybe weird for you but not for me. I like your company and coming here makes me happy," she said with a sad tone. Ellie knows that her feelings are more than being friends with him. But what can she do about it? Joel is 40 years old and she knows that he is only going to see her as a kid, even if she doesn't feel like one.

Joel grabbed his plate and stood up. "As I said, I like having you here from time to time, but you need to have more friends. You know, people of your own age." Joel walked into the kitchen and put the plate on the sink. "Don't get me wrong ki- I mean Ellie, you're always going to be welcome here, but you need to be with kids like you. It is not good to spend too much time with an old man like me."

Ellie looks at him and doesn't like where this conversation is going. "I don't like to be with people my own age, they're so boring and immature. I prefer to spend my time with you. It makes me feel better."

Joel looked at her, not knowing what more to say. This girl is getting too close to him and that is not good. But by now, he knows how lonely she feels sometimes. So for now, it is better to leave things as it is. Besides, with school and his job starting soon she won't be able to come to his house too much.

"Okay, don't worry about it. You can come here and I will help you if I can. Now if you finish, I will clean this out while you go to change," Ellie passed him the plate and he put it on the sink. I need to go to the bathroom and take a shower, so as soon as I get out of the bathroom I will take you home, okay?"

"Can we stay here a little longer? I mean my aunt is not going to be at home until later afternoon, so maybe we can-"

"Ellie!" he said her name with a firm tone.

"Fine, it was just a suggestion… you don't need to give me that look…" Ellie stood up from the chair and walked back to the living room to get her bag. "Can I use the bathroom first?"

"Sure, no problem," Soon Joel saw her walk to the bathroom, he spoke again. "Thanks for making breakfast, it was good." Ellie did not answer him and got into the bathroom and closed the door. _Yeah, I think she is a little mad now, but maybe it is better that way._

( One hour later )

After they get out of the house. Ellie and Joel get into the truck and he drives to Ellie's house. Soon they arrive there Joel makes sure that her aunt wasn't there before he parked in front of the house.

"Okay… Here we are," Say Joel looking at the front door.

Ellie looked at the front door for a moment, then back at Joel. "Yes, here we're." She wants to invite him in, to spend more time with Joel. But she knew that he needed to go, so she let go of that thought. She doesn't know how long she stared at his face. Remember all the good times they had this weekend.

"Everything is okay?" he asked while Ellie continued looking at him.

Ellie blinked her eyes. "Yes, everything is fine." She turned her head, grabbed her backpack, and opened the door. "I… I just want to thank you for such a wonderful weekend. It was fun and I had a great time…"

"Yeah, I have a great time too. I'm glad that you enjoy it so much."

There were so many questions she wanted to ask him. Not only about what she hears when she goes to the bathroom, but also about some other things. But right now it was not the time for that. She looked at him again and smiled. Then she leaned close to him and kissed him on the check.

"Thank you," she said, moving out of the truck and running toward her house.

Joel watched her as she got into the house and closed the door. He moved his hand to the cheek Ellie just kissed. He wasn't sure why she did that but felt nice. _C'mon Joel that was nothing, just a gesture of gratitude._ After a few minutes, he started the truck again and drove off.

After Joel left Ellie in her house, Joel went to check the job the man who called him offered him. So the man just needs some help in repairing a few things in his house, so Joel accepts the job.

So the next day Joel comes back and explains to the man the material he will need and the time is going to take to finish the job. It takes Joel a week to finish that job, so after that other people call him and offer some jobs. They're just small things, but it was a start.

The weekend after school started, Ellie showed up in Joel's house and offered herself to help him. She feels good to come back after an entire week without seeing him. Ellie texted him almost every day during the school week, but Joel only responded a few times telling her that he got a few more jobs and that he was really busy. Ellie wanted to go there after school, but her aunt was at home all week and picked her up from school. So it was nothing she could do to get away to see him. Also, her teachers gave her a lot of homework to do, so she needed to stay at home and work on them.

The following weeks, Ellie manages to get away from her house and go to Joel's a few times after school since her aunt needs to stay late at her work and can't pick her up. Her aunt told her to talk to one of her friends at school and see if someone can give her a ride home. But Ellie told her that she already spoke to someone at school that will give her a ride. The first time she needed the ride, Ellie called Joel and told him that she needed him to pick her up.

Ellie told him that she will wait for him a few blocks away from school and wait for him in front of a closed store that has some benches there. After Joel shows up and picks her up, she convinces him to let her help with his work. Joel didn't want to do it at first, but after Ellie begged him all the way from the town, to her house he just gave in. They do the same the next day, but this time they go to Joel's house and work for a few hours. He was now repairing some furniture that a woman gave him in town.

When they finish for the day, Joel takes Ellie back home. When they arrive there Ellie gives him another kiss on his cheek, before she goes inside. After that week has passed, Ellie continues to come to Joel's house every time she has the chance. And when Joel takes her home back home, she always says goodbye with a kiss on his cheek. Joel never asked her why she was doing that, but after three weeks, Joel started to notice that Ellie was acting weird after that.

( A week later )

It was the last weekend of the summer and Ellie was trying to convince Joel to go to the lake again that Sunday and so they can pass the whole day together again. But Joel was trying not to give up on her wishes.

"C'mon Joel… It is going to be the last weekend of summer. After that, the water is going to get too cold to swim." Say Ellie while watching Joel working in a piece of wood.

Joel was brushing planks for a door that he was repairing for an old woman that lives on the other side of the lake. "I think it is already late for that, the water is already getting cold. Besides, I have work to do this weekend too."

Ellie rolled her eyes. She doesn't know why he always said no at first if in the end she always convinces him. "Ahhh… c'mon is not that cold yet… but if you don't want to go into the water. We can just go fishing or camping that will be fun too."

Joel looked at her not willing to give up this time. He really needs to finish the job and going there again is not going to be good. "Sorry, but I have to finish this by tomorrow. And you need to study and do your homework. If your aunt finds out that you are spending too much time out of the house and not studying much. She will end up looking for you and asking questions to the neighbors."

"Joel I already told you that no one knows that I am coming here. Besides who cares… we're not doing anything wrong," Ellie started to move close to the table that Joel was using for work. C'mon, we had so much fun last time and I want to go again before the summer ends... please!"

"Yeah we have fun, but summer school is over and you need to concentrate on your studies," he said with a firm voice this time.

"Okay… if you don't want to go to the lake then let's do something here? I can call my aunt later and tell her that I will spend the night with a friend-" Joel doesn't even let her finish.

"Ellie I said no." Joel was getting suspicious that Ellie was getting emotionally attached to him. And that it wasn't good for any of them. So he needs to make her understand that it is not good for them to spend too much time together. He was working for people now, and sometimes they come here looking for him to offer a job or to pick up something. So the last thing he needs now is someone to show up and see them together and start talking. Yeah, they're not doing anything wrong, but people always exaggerate things.

Ellie looks at him, trying to figure out why he was acting this way. Yeah, he is working now, but they can find time to do things… right? The thing is that she doesn't want to be away from him, and with school and his work she doesn't see him as much as she wants. Ellie moved slowly around the table and grabbed the tool that Joel was going to use.

"What? You were going to use this?" Say Ellie while walking out of the shed, that Joel was using to do his work.

Joel turned around and looked at her. "Ellie I need that… so stop playing and give it back," Joel put his other tool on the table and started walking toward her, with one hand extended.

"I will give it back if you let me stay tonight," Say Ellie while continue moving away from him

"Ellie I am not playing… give that back I need it," he tried to get closer to her but she moved away.

"Do we have a deal?" she asked while putting her hands behind her.

"No, there is no deal… now give me that back…" Joel tried to take the tool from her hand, but Ellie dogged him and started to run away from him.

"Okay, but if you want it, you need to catch me first," Ellie starts running around the backyard while Joel starts to chase her.

"Ellie I don't have time to play, I need to finish the job," he tried to grab her by her t-shirt but Ellie moved to the side and ran in the other direction. She moves around the truck and stops on the other side.

"What is the matter Joel, too slow to catch me?" Joel tried to grab her again but she ran to the other side of the house letting Joel behind. They continued running around until Joel finally got her when she tried to get into the house.

Joel grabbed her by the waist and tried to take the tool out of her hand. "Give me that," he takes the tool out of Ellie's hands.

"Yeah, you get it back, but I can still grab another until we get into a deal."

"Oh is that so?" Ellie was fighting to get out of his grip but Joel lifted her body and put her on his shoulder. "Maybe I can give you a few spankings, just to make sure that you don't do that again," Joel started to walk with Ellie on his shoulder back to the shed.

"You will don't dare," says Ellie while trying to get out of Joel's shoulder.

Joel walked into the shed and put his tool on the table, but before he put Ellie down. Ellie managed to get off of him and try to grab another tool. But Joel moved faster this time and grabbed her before she did that. "Oh, no you're not going to do this again. Ellie starts laughing while trying to get away from him.

She almost manages to get out of Joel's grip, but before she has the time to do it, Joel trips over and they land on the ground. Joel hit the floor pretty hard, but Ellie got lucky as she landed on top of him. She started to stand up but stopped when Joel was with his eyes closed and he wasn't moving."

"Joel… are you okay?" she asked but he did not respond. "Joel!" she said his name more loudly this time.

Ellie sits upon his stomach and starts touching his face. "C'mon Joel this is not funny!" After a minute she started to get worried. "Ohhh… no...no..no. C'mon Joel wake up… please… you can't do this to me… please!" Ellie was getting scared now.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Sorry about the cliffhanger there, but this supposed to be the last chapter and it was getting too long. so I can't resist to split it there. Yeah, I know that maybe some of you don't like cliffhangers, so I hope you're ok with it. LOL
> 
> Remember to left a review at the end and I hope that you like this story so far. Thank you


	17. Left Behind

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After Ellie kiss Joel and told him that she has feelings for him, Joel has to make a decision. Did Joel will talk to Ellie or he will do was he think s the right thing to do?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I do not own any character of (The Last of Us) TLOU is owned by Naughty Dog and their creators.
> 
> A/N: Okay people this is the final chapter of this super cool challenge for me. I never thought that it will be like this since this story has nothing to do with the game. So I want to thanks the person that encourages me to do this and give me some idea to make this story possible. (Thank you cakepop96 for helping me in a way to make this) Also, I wanted to thanks the rest of the people that read this story and I hope that you like it. I like to try to do something like this again in the future, so if anyone wants me to do another story like this one, just LMk know and I will try to think about something. Or if you have any suggestions for a story, just LMk and I will think it about. Again thank you all for reading this and thanks to all people that left a comment at the end, I really appreciated those. So take care of yourself and stay safe out there.

**Chapter 17: Left Behind**

"Joel... wake up… please," Ellie was on top of Joel's immobile body. Tiers start to form on her eyes. Ellie doesn't know what to do, seeing Joel like that freezes her. Ellie moved from the top of him and knelt down on his side. She shook him a few more times and called his name, but as he did not respond, Ellie grabbed his head and put it on her lap. At that moment Ellie felt one of her hands a little wet, so soon she moved it off his head she saw a little blood on her fingers.

"Oh… my God!" she enters in panic. "Joel!... please wake up… please..."

Ellie moved her head down and put her ear on his chest. Then she heard his heartbeat, it was weak, but it was there. "Thank God… he's still alive," Ellie calls his name a few more times, but as he does not respond, she starts to think what to do. "I need to call 911… shit, what I didn't think about that from the beginning.

Ellie moves her hand and grabs her phone from her back pocket. She was nervous. She was trying to dial the emergency number while tears were falling down her face. After a minute, she manages to put the number on the phone screen. But before she pressed the button to make the call, she fell a hand grabbing hers.

" _Don't!"_ a weak voice says from below her.

"Joel!" Ellie moves her hand away and looks at his face. "Oh, my God… I thought… you…" Ellie drops the phone to the ground and pulls him up a little and hugs him. Fuck… Joel doesn't do this to me again… I thought you're… Oh God, I was so scared," Ellie bore her head on his chest while holding him tight.

Joel moves one hand and starts passing it on the back of her head. "I'm so sorry Ellie… I don't mean to scare you."

"But you did… shit," Ellie moved away from him and looked at his face. "All this was my fault… and when I saw the blood… shit the blood," Ellie goes scared again when she remembers the blood on her fingers. "Joel, you have blood on your head… we need to call an ambulance," Ellie looks around for her phone, but Joel grabs her hand again.

"Don't call 911… I'm fine," Joel moves away from Ellie's lap and stays sitting on the ground. He feels a little pain in his head, but it wasn't that bad.

"But… I saw blood Joel, we need to go to the hospital just to be sure that-"

"Ellie is okay… I'm fine," Joel passes his hand on the back of his head and feels the little cut there. He looks at his hand and sees a little blood there. But he did not feel like it was a major thing, "Is only a scratch… don't worry about it."

"Don't worry about it? Joel, I called you to name for a few minutes and you didn't respond. And you have some blood on your head… I think this is serious."

Joel starts to get up from the ground. "Is okay Ellie… I'm just going to put some alcohol there and all is going to be okay," he says standing up now.

Ellie stood up and stood in front of him. Joel this can be serious… maybe it's good if we go to the hospital and get that check out."

Joel moves to the table and uses it to support himself. "We can't call 911 or go to the hospital together, they will start to ask questions… and I don't want that. Besides I'm fine so go there it will be a waste of time."

Ellie lowered her head and looked at the ground. She feels Joel's hand on her shoulders, but even though she was happy that he is okay, that doesn't change the fact that he could die. She doesn't want to cry, but the image of Joel's immobile body on the floor still on her head. "What if this was real… What if something happens to you?"

Joel sees that she started to cry, he did not expect this to affect her this much. So he pulled her in and hugged her. "Is okay Ellie nothing happens to me see!... I'm fine, you don't need to worry about it… Please don't cry." He lowered his head and kissed the top of her head.

Ellie wants to resist her emotions, but she can't. She feels happy that he seems to be okay, but also scared. Yeah, she felt really scared of losing him like that. She was younger when she lost her mother, so she doesn't remember that too much. But losing Joel now that will kill her inside. Ellie moved her hand on his back and hugged him back as hard as she could. "Joel... never do that again," Ellie made a sobbing noise while bearing her face on his chest. "You know that I lost my mother… and I can't lose you too."

Joel closes his eyes and leans his head on top of her. He knows how it feels to lose someone you love. But did Ellie love him this much? Yeah seems like a friend lying on the floor with some blood on his head must be serious, but this seems to affect Ellie too much. Yeah, he remembers when she told him about her mother who died when she was a kid and that she never knew her father. He knows that he is probably the only friend she had, and thinking that he could die must be too hard for her. Maybe He's been seeing the wrong signal, maybe she sees him as a father. "Is okay… Ellie I am not going to die… I know you lost your mother but you're not going to lose me," Joel is not sure if that was a good thing to say to her, but he needs to say something to calm her down.

"Do you promise?" Ellie asked with her face still pressing on his chest.

"Well, I can promise that I'm not going to die today… or any time soon. But you must understand that death is going to come to us one day," Joel kissed her head again and moved his head up to look at her.

Ellie opens her eyes and moves her head away from him. "I love you… Joel," Ellie said while looking at his eyes. "You're the best thing that happened to me in a long time and I don't want to lose you too."

Joel looked at her and saw the tears falling down her cheek, so he moved his hands and removed her tears from her face. Joel stays looking at her face, not sure what he is seeing in there. He saw her fear, worry, and love, but what kind of love? Yeah, she just said that she loves him, but like a father? He saw eyes like that a long time ago and those don't look like family love. Those feelings inside of him start to surface again, and he doesn't know what to do with them. He needs to stop this before they do something they would regret later. Having can't have those kinds of feelings for a 16 years girl, that is not right. She was getting too close to him and he needed to stop that too. Joel let go of her and started to move away from her, but Ellie grabbed his face with her hand and stopped him.

"Please don't go… I just..." she said in a low tone, not moving her eye away from him.

Joel continues looking at her not knowing what to do. Part of him wants to get away from her and the other wants to hold on to this. He has been trying so hard to stay busy, so that way Ellie doesn't come to his house too much. He really likes her company and spends time with her, it makes him want to move on with his life. But he knows that things are getting out of control now and he needs to stop them before something happens. He was going to say something to her, but before he had the chance to speak, Ellie moved forward and kissed him.

Joel didn't know what to do when he fell, Ellie lips pressing on his. He sure wasn't expecting that, so he just froze there while Ellie kissed him. Ellie kissed him and after not getting any response from Joel, Ellie moved away from Joel a little but stayed looking at him.

After an awkward silence, Joel comes back to his senses. "Ellie!?" Say Joel looking at her with a surprised expression. He can't believe that she just kissed him on the mouth. He doesn't understand why she just did something like that. Or maybe he just doesn't want to know.

But somehow, he knew that something like this will happen if they continue passing too much time together. How he can see this coming, or maybe he did but not want to do something about it. Now is too late, and Ellie will end with a broken heart because there is nothing they can do about all this. He is an adult and she is still a minor, and even though he was starting to feel something for her, he knows that is wrong.

Ellie notices the awkwardness of the situation and starts to feel embarrassed. Yes, she loves him and wanted to kiss him for as long as she can remember. But she wanted him to kiss her back, she wanted him to feel the same. This was the first time that she kissed someone in the mouth. Ellie always imagining her first kiss would be a wonderful experience. But Joel's expression after she moved away just made her feel bad. Maybe he doesn't feel the same way for her and that is going to break her heart.

How he can feel the same way if he only sees her as a kid. A lot of feelings were forming on her head and heart, and not all of them were good ones. Why did she kiss him? Now she is risking their friendship, just for this. She thought that he would respond to her feeling, but right now she just feels embarrassed. "I'm so sorry… I don't… I don't know why I do… that. I just… wasn't thinking," She said turning around and moving away from him.

Joel doesn't know what to say to her without making this worse. Ellie just kissed him in the mouth and he didn't even know if this was her first time. "Ellie… I… I just don't know what just happened," he started, but he didn't move from his position. He needs time to think. Think about what he is going to say to her or how to handle all this, but right now he can't. "Ellie, it's late… and maybe it will be good if we talk about this later. I need to finish this before it gets dark and-"

"I get it, Joel. We don't need to talk about anything. I can see that this does not mean anything to you."

Joel moves a little forward but stops before he gets close to her. "But it does. I… I just can talk about this right now."

"Why not?" Ellie turned around and looked at him. "I just told you that…" Ellie stops before she says the two words again. It is obvious that he doesn't love her back… or he is too scared to admit. Either way, he is right maybe it is better if they talk about this later. "I think you're right, I should go home," Ellie turned around and started walking. Maybe this is for the best because she knows what Joel is going to say anyway. Like how all this is wrong and that is punished by the law and all that and right now she doesn't want to hear any of that.

"Wait!... Let me go to the house and grab the keys, so I can take you home."

Ellie turned her head around and looked at him. "Don't worry, you don't need to do that. I can walk back home on my own… but thank you." then she turned her head around and started to walk out of the shed.

Joel wants to stop her and talk to her. But what is he going to say? He already has his suspicions about her feelings and that kiss is just proved. His life was always a mess, that was why he didn't want her to get too close or anybody else. Now he needs to think about what is the right thing to do. "I don't want you to walk back home alone, so let me take you," he said while starting moving toward her.

"Is okay Joel, you don't need to do that. I walked here alone all the time, so I will be fine."

"Ellie…"

"Is okay Joel, I will be fine. Besides, my aunt is probably back home by now and I know that you won't like to explain to her why you were giving me a ride home."

"Well, maybe that will be good. I mean, maybe I can finally meet her and-"

"No, the last thing I need is starting to explain all this to her. I already feel bad enough about all this and I don't want to make it worse," She gave him one last look, then she ran in the direction of the woods where the path to her house is.

"Ellie!" Joel moved to stop her but decided that it was better to let her go. "Shit…" He doesn't want things to end like this with her. But maybe it was better for both of them. Things were good between them, so why this became a mess. He needs to clear his head on what just happens and think about what he is going to say to her later.

After a few minutes of running into the woods, Ellie stopped and reclined herself on one of the trees there. After getting some air back in, she sat down on the ground and put her hands on her face. Tears started coming out from her eyes as she started to cry. Stupid… stupid… Ellie, why do you have to do that? Now he is going to freak out and stop talking to you. She was mad with herself for letting her feelings get the better of her. Yeah, she loves him, but it was better to keep that to herself… until he shows that he feels the same for her. But now all that is ruined, and she doesn't know how she is going to fix it. She lies about her aunt too. She is not going to be home, but it was better to get back home before her aunt came back and saw her like this.

( Two days later )

After Joel finished with the job he was working on and got pay. He decided not to take any new jobs. He still needs time to think about what happened a few days before. That day, Joel texted Ellie an hour after she left just to make sure that she arrived home safely. Ellie answered him two hours later and told him that she arrived home fine. She didn't send any more text or call him after that. Joel was worried that after a few days Ellie would not even come to his house to talk or call him. Joel doesn't know what to think about all that. Maybe she was mad at him or still feels bad about what happened. Joel was missing her already, but maybe all this was for the best.

But even so, he has not been sleeping well for the past two days. He can't stop thinking about the kiss. He has to admit that her kiss feels good even the ones that she gives him on his cheek. But he doesn't want to feel this way, Ellie is only 16 and is wrong to have feelings for a girl that age. He needs to think about all this, otherwise, he will be a bad person.

He did a lot of bad things before, but nothing compared to this, and that is making me feel sick. He can't have feelings for her, and if he admits that he has some feelings for her, that is going to make things worse.

Joel was now in his living room thinking about what to do next. He texts her a few times telling her that they need to talk, even if she was mad at him. But he didn't receive any response. He will wait until she comes to his house to talk. But he needs to convince her that all this is wrong, that she needs to find someone her own age. But how he is going to tell her, that they can't be together like that without breaking her heart. He needs to find a solution to all this before it gets worse. Why does this have to be so complicated? Things were good between us before all this and now I don't know if things can go back the way before.

Joel was walking around in the living room when he heard someone knocking at the door. He stops and looks in that direction. "I'm coming," He starts walking toward the door and hoping that it was Ellie, so that way they finally talk and put an end to all this.

( A week later )

It has been more than a week since the kiss. Ellie went back to school after that weekend ended. Ellie thought that going back to school would be a good distraction, but it was making things worse. After a few days, she started to miss Joel and felt sad about what happened. Joel sent her a few texts asking how she was, but she didn't have the courage to answer him back. Ellie tried to hide her sadness, in front of her aunt, but Ellie knew that she was getting suspicious that something was wrong with her. So a few days later, her aunt started to ask her if something was wrong with her. Ellie only smiled at her and told her that everything was fine, she knew that her aunt didn't buy that.

But that lie didn't go well, because her aunt started to get concerned and didn't let Ellie get out of the house. Sometimes when Ellie came back from school, she told her aunt that she was tired and that she wanted to be alone in her room. But she really was missing Joel, so after and sometimes she cried in her room. Ellie can't call Joel from her house, because for some reason her aunt was staying at home and picked her up from school. At home, her aunt just let her go outside the house but didn't let her go out of her side. That was starting to worry Ellie because she thought that her aunt knew something.

It has been two weeks now since the incident and Ellie doesn't want to lose Joel like that. She needs to go to Joel's house and try to fix things, even if she has to bury her feelings deep down, and only be friends with him. That is not what she wants or needs, but at least she will be close to him. She loves him no doubt about that now, she has been feeling miserable for the last two weeks. She knows that her aunt is not going to let her go out of her side, but she needs to

see Joel. Maybe if she talks to him and is convinced to wait, until she turns 18 that will be great.

Maybe the reason that Joel does not want to be with her like that is because of the age problem, so maybe she can convince him to wait until she turns 18. She will be 17 next year, so after that, he only needs to wait one more year. Then she will be 18 and they can be together. without having any problem with the law, because she will be an adult by then.

Ellie saw her opportunity when her aunt told her that she needs to go out of town for the weekend. So Ellie will use that to go to Joel's house and finally talk to him. She will tell him about her plan, and that she will be willing to wait until she turns 18. But how Joel is going to react to that? Was he going to accept that? Did he really have some feelings for her? Those questions will be answered when she goes to his house and talks to him. She doesn't know what is going to happen when she goes there, but she was hoping for the best.

( Saturday Morning )

It has been more than two weeks since Ellie kissed Joel. And finally, Ellie's aunt went on her trip and that gave Ellie the time she needed to go to Joel's house and talk. So Ellie grabbed her phone and went out of her house. Been apart from Joel all this time was killing her, so she was hoping to fix all this. She tried to go before but her aunt was always on her, so this was her chance to see him again. The walk from Ellie's house to Joel's was only one hour through the forest, but Ellie was like eternity. She was practicing what she was going to say and thought of all the things Joel was going to say to her. After the long walk, Ellie put a smile on her face as soon she saw his house in the distance.

Ellie stops when she arrives at the tree line that divides Joel's backyard from the rest of the forest. Ellie closed her eyes and took a deep breath. Okay… Ellie, you can do this. Just tell him that you love him… and… fuck I can't do this. Ellie opens her eyes and looks at the house. After a few minutes, she found the courage to do what she needed to do. Okay, let's do this.

Ellie walked into his backyard and noticed that his truck wasn't there. That was strange for Ellie since Joel always parks his truck on the back of the house. Ellie walked to the front of the house to check if his truck was there. But soon she went to the front of the house, she saw that it wasn't there either. Ellie thought that maybe he was doing another job or go to the store or something. Ellie walked to the front door and tried to check the inside of the house through one of the windows. But she can't see much since the curtain was blocking her view and the house

was dark inside. It was obvious that Joel was out, so she is going to need to wait for him.

Ellie was going to sit on the porch and wait for him, but she remembered that Joel has spare key hiding on the back of the Ellie walked to the back of the house again and looked for the key that Joel hid under a rock in the backyard. Joel told her about the key after she started to come to the house to help him. He just wants Ellie to know that she can enter the house if he was out doing something.

After Ellie finds the key, she goes to the back door and opens it. Soon she goes inside, Ellie starts calling him, just in case he was sleeping and left his truck in another place. It was unlikely of him, but she wanted to be sure. As he did not respond, Ellie walked to his room and opened the door. Then she saw that the bed was clean and fixed. Ellie looked around, but she had the feeling that something wasn't right because Joel was not that clean on the house. Even though she only entered his room one time, he told her that he doesn't fix the bed in the morning. After Ellie walked out of his room, she went to the living room and saw the same thing. All the place was cleaned up; not garbage, not haft eating food or clothes all around there.

Ellie was getting a bad feeling about all that, she ran to the kitchen and opened the fridge. He never had much there but, this time the fridge was completely empty. Ellie started to check all the cabinets and they were almost empty too. It looks like he doesn't buy anything in two weeks and eats all he has there. The panic in Ellie starts to surface. Joel… where you… go? Ellie starts to walk around the house, getting the feeling that she was left behind.

"No, no, no,... no, this can't be happening." She walks again to the living room looking for a clue on why the house was like this and where Joel can go. After a few minutes, she saw an envelope on the top of the fireplace. Ellie ran toward there and grabbed it. The envelope has something written on it that says ' **This is** **for Ellie'** Ellie hand started to tremble. She doesn't know what this means, but she knows that is nothing good. After a few minutes of watching the envelope, Ellie opened and took out the letter that it was inside. Ellie checked the writing and it was obvious that Joel left the letter for her. It was only one paper, and even though she didn't know what it said, some tears started to form in Ellie's eyes. Ellie looked at the paper for a few minutes, before she started to read it. Oh, God doesn't let it be what I think it is… please. Then she started to read the letter.

_Dear Ellie,_

_I'm so sorry that things have to be like this, but I think that it was better this way for both of us. I know that this is not the best way to say this, but I can't find the courage to say it in person. I know that you want to talk about what happened a few weeks ago. But after thinking for two weeks, I didn't know what to say to you…. I never was a good talking person and I don't want you to feel bad about what happens or blame yourself for it. Because of nothing if this was your fault. Yeah, you are going to think that I'm gone because you kissed me. But the thing is that I'm the one that left that happen. I was the adult one, so I should not let things get too far between us._

_I came here for a reason, and even though I can't tell you why, that reason makes me take this decision. I know that this is going to be difficult for you to understand, but you will be alright. I never was a good man, and my pain made me make bad decisions in the past that cost me_

_a lot. But I can say that having you in my life makes me forget the pain, even for a little bit._

_You make me open my heart again, and make me want to love someone again and I am always going to be thankful to you for that. I make a lot of mistakes all my life and for one I want to do the right thing. I'm not sure what that kiss means to you, or maybe I do, but I just too scared to_

_find out. I'm so sorry that I scared you that much that day, and forced you to do what you did. I know that it sounds stupid, but now that I know what you feel is time for me to be a good man and do the right thing. Please don't let this push you down, you have a beautiful heart and soul. I want to thank you for giving me the chance to feel something again, but it is time for me to go. You're young and beautiful and you have all your life ahead of you. I know that with the time you will find someone special that can give you all the love that you deserve, so don't give up._

_I don't know what is going to happen now, but I have a lot to think about. Don't get me wrong I really enjoy the time we spent together and I'm glad that in some way I make you happy for a time. Don't be sad about it, and go out there and find new friends. Don't close yourself, because of this. I know that it will be painful at first and I am so sorry about that. I hope that one day you forget me if for some reason we see each other again. I don't know this world is so small sometimes that maybe we will. Writing this letter wasn't easy and I know that reading it is even worse. It took me several days to find a way to say goodbye without hurting you, but in the end, I did a bad job._

_I don't know what is going to happen to the house, maybe I will sell it with time, but I want you to use it any time you wanted. If you need to be by yourself you're welcome here, you not where the key is. I don't want you to go to that old cabin close to the lake is not safe for you and I don't want anything to happen to you. I may be gone but that doesn't mean that I don't care about you okay. The electric bill was paid for two months, and the house is always going to have water, so you will be okay for a while. I know that this is not what you wanted, but you deserve someone better than me, someone, your own age. So go out there and find one, do it for me, and for yourself, you deserve it. Again sorry for making you feel bad and make you cry, not just for before but for now too. I know that you will understand someday. I know this will be hard, but you will be okay. Thank you for everything… I am never going to forget our time together._

_With all my love, your friend Joel._

As soon as Ellie finishes reading the letter, she just goes down on her knees and starts crying. This was the worst day of her life, and now she doesn't know how she is going to continue her life without Joel.

**To be Continued….**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> EndNote: While Ellie was reading the letter, just imagine Joel driving his pick-up truck out of the country, with some tiers coming out of his eyes too. ;)
> 
> A/N: Sorry about the cliffhanger there, but when I start this story, it supposes to be a short one. But when I working on it and go to the last chapter, I saw that I can add more to the story, so I decide to make it a two-part story. I'm already working on the second part, so I hope that at the end of this part. I will be able to start posting as soon as I can. I don't want to left people waiting too long after this cliffhanger. So I probably going to start posting in two weeks after this one is finished. So see you soon in the next part and thank you all for reading this story and hope that you return to the second part. Thank you all and see you all soon.

**Author's Note:**

> AN: The chapters in this story are going to post once a week if nothing goes wrong or something happens that delays the post. So it is going to be a weekly post. I know that people like to read a story as faster as the can, but I need the time to work on the chapters and some times I don't have much time to write. So thank you for your patience and for reading my story. And don't forget to put a comment at the end or ask any question if you have one. I will try to answer them if I can.


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